McLoughlin v. Raphael Tuck Co., 191 U.S. 267 (1903)

McLoughlin v. Raphael Tuck Co.

No. 73

Argued November 11-12, 1903
Decided November 30, 1903
191 U.S. 267

ERROR TO THE CIRCUIT COURT OF

APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

Syllabus

The penal provisions of § 4693, Rev.Stat., as amended by the Act of March 3, 1891, had no extraterritorial operation, and did not embrace the act of affixing in a foreign country to a publication a false statement that it was copyrighted under the laws of the United States.

Prior to the amendment of March 3, 1897, there was no provision in the copyright laws forbidding the importation into, or the sale after its importation within, the United States of an article falsely stamped with the copyright notice in a foreign country and the proviso in the amending act expressly saved the right to sell such an article if it had been imported prior thereto.

The facts are stated in the opinion.