U.S.A. Copyright Law, Library of Congress. Copyright Office [reading diary TXT] 📗
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The court shall also award such person the infringer's profits that are
attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in
computing the award of actual damages. In establishing the infringer's
profits, such person is required to present proof only of the
infringer's gross revenue, and the infringer is required to prove his or
her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to
factors other than the mask work.
(c) At any time before final judgment is rendered, a person entitled to
institute a civil action for infringement may elect, instead of actual
damages and profits as provided by subsection (b), an award of statutory
damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to
any one mask work for which any one infringer is liable individually, or
for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally,
in an amount not more than $250,000 as the court considers just.
(d) An action for infringement under this chapter shall be barred unless
the action is commenced within three years after the claim accrues.
(e)(1) At any time while an action for infringement of the exclusive
rights in a mask work under this chapter is pending, the court may order
the impounding, on such terms as it may deem reasonable, of all
semiconductor chip products, and any drawings, tapes, masks, or other
products by means of which such products may be reproduced, that are
claimed to have been made, imported, or used in violation of those
exclusive rights. Insofar as practicable, applications for orders under
this paragraph shall be heard and determined in the same manner as an
application for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction.
(2) As part of a final judgment or decree, the court may order the
destruction or other disposition of any infringing semiconductor chip
products, and any masks, tapes, or other articles by means of which such
products may be reproduced.
(f) In any civil action arising under this chapter, the court in its
discretion may allow the recovery of full costs, including reasonable
attorneys' fees, to the prevailing party.
(g)(1) Any State, any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or
employee of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in his or her
official capacity, shall not be immune, under the Eleventh Amendment of
the Constitution of the United States or under any other doctrine of
sovereign immunity, from suit in Federal court by any person, including
any governmental or nongovernmental entity, for a violation of any of
the exclusive rights of the owner of a mask work under this chapter, or
for any other violation under this chapter.
(2) In a suit described in paragraph (1) for a violation described in
that paragraph, remedies (including remedies both at law and in equity)
are available for the violation to the same extent as such remedies are
available for such a violation in a suit against any public or private
entity other than a State, instrumentality of a State, or officer or
employee of a State acting in his or her official capacity. Such
remedies include actual damages and profits under subsection (b),
statutory damages under subsection (c), impounding and disposition of
infringing articles under subsection (e), and costs and attorney's fees
under subsection (f).
Section 912. Relation to other laws [7]
(a) Nothing in this chapter shall affect any right or remedy held by any
person under chapters 1 through 8 or 10 of this title, or under title
35.
(b) Except as provided in section 908(b) of this title, references to
"this title" or "title 17" in chapters 1 through 8 or 10 of this title
shall be deemed not to apply to this chapter.
(c) The provisions of this chapter shall preempt the laws of any State
to the extent those laws provide any rights or remedies with respect to
a mask work which are equivalent to those rights or remedies provided by
this chapter, except that such preemption shall be effective only with
respect to actions filed on or after January 1, 1986.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (c), nothing in this chapter shall
detract from any rights of a mask work owner, whether under Federal law
(exclusive of this chapter) or under the common law or the statutes of a
State, heretofore or hereafter declared or enacted, with respect to any
mask work first commercially exploited before July 1, 1983.
Section 913. Transitional provisions
(a) No application for registration under section 908 may be filed, and
no civil action under section 910 or other enforcement proceeding under
this chapter may be instituted, until sixty days after the date of the
enactment of this chapter.
(b) No monetary relief under section 911 may be granted with respect to
any conduct that occurred before the date of the enactment of this
chapter, except as provided in subsection (d).
(c) Subject to subsection (a), the provisions of this chapter apply to
all mask works that are first commercially exploited or are registered
under this chapter, or both, on or after the date of the enactment of
this chapter.
(d)(1) Subject to subsection (a), protection is available under this
chapter to any mask work that was first commercially exploited on or
after July 1, 1983, and before the date of the enactment of this
chapter, if a claim of protection in the mask work is registered in the
Copyright Office before July 1, 1985, under section 908.
(2) In the case of any mask work described in paragraph (1) that is
provided protection under this chapter, infringing semiconductor chip
product units manufactured before the date of the enactment of this
chapter may, without liability under sections 910 and 911, be imported
into or distributed in the United States, or both, until two years after
the date of registration of the mask work under section 908, but only if
the importer or distributor, as the case may be, first pays or offers to
pay the reasonable royalty referred to in section 907(a)(2) to the mask
work owner, on all such units imported or distributed, or both, after
the date of the enactment of this chapter.
(3) In the event that a person imports or distributes infringing
semiconductor chip product units described in paragraph (2) of this
subsection without first paying or offering to pay the reasonable
royalty specified in such paragraph, or if the person refuses or fails
to make such payment, the mask work owner shall be entitled to the
relief provided in sections 910 and 911.
Section 914. International transitional provisions [8]
(a) Notwithstanding the conditions set forth in subparagraphs (A) and
(C) of section 902(a)(1) with respect to the availability of protection
under this chapter to nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign
authorities of a foreign nation, the Secretary of Commerce may, upon the
petition of any person, or upon the Secretary's own motion, issue an
order extending protection under this chapter to such foreign nationals,
domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities if the Secretary finds-
(1) that the foreign nation is making good faith efforts and reasonable
progress toward-
(A) entering into a treaty described in section 902(a)(1)(A); or
(B) enacting or implementing legislation that would be in compliance
with subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 902(a)(2); and
(2) that the nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities of the
foreign nation, and persons controlled by them, are not engaged in the
misappropriation, or unauthorized distribution or commercial
exploitation, of mask works; and
(3) that issuing the order would promote the purposes of this chapter
and international comity with respect to the protection of mask works.
(b) While an order under subsection (a) is in effect with respect to a
foreign nation, no application for registration of a claim for
protection in a mask work under this chapter may be denied solely
because the owner of the mask work is a national, domiciliary, or
sovereign authority of that foreign nation, or solely because the mask
work was first commercially exploited in that foreign nation.
(c) Any order issued by the Secretary of Commerce under subsection (a)
shall be effective for such a period as the Secretary designates in the
order, except that no such order may be effective after that date on
which the authority of the Secretary of Commerce terminates under
subsection (e). The effective date of any such order shall also be
designated in the order. In the case of an order issued upon the
petition of a person, such effective date may be no earlier than the
date on which the Secretary receives such petition.
(d)(1) Any order issued under this section shall terminate if-
(A) the Secretary of Commerce finds that any of the conditions set forth
in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) no longer exist; or
(B) mask works of nationals, domiciliaries, and sovereign authorities of
that foreign nation or mask works first commercially exploited in that
foreign nation become eligible for protection under subparagraph (A) or
(C) of section 902(a)(1).
(2) Upon the termination or expiration of an order issued under this
section, registrations of claims of protection in mask works made
pursuant to that order shall remain valid for the period specified in
section 904.
(e) The authority of the Secretary of Commerce under this section shall
commence on the date of the enactment of this chapter, and shall
terminate on July 1, 1995.
(f) (1) The Secretary of Commerce shall promptly notify the Register of
Copyrights and the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
House of Representatives of the issuance or termination of any order
under this section, together with a statement of the reasons for such
action. The Secretary shall also publish such notification and statement
of reasons in the Federal Register.
(2) Two years after the date of the enactment of this chapter, the
Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Register of Copyrights,
shall transmit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
House of Representatives a report on the actions taken under this
section and on the current status of international recognition of mask
work protection. The report shall include such recommendation for
modifications of the protection accorded under this chapter to mask
works owned by nationals, domiciliaries, or sovereign authorities of
foreign nations as the Secretary, in consultation with the Register of
Copyrights, considers would promote the purposes of this chapter and
international comity with respect to mask work protection. Not later
than July 1, 1994, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the
Register of Copyrights, shall transmit to the Committees on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report
updating the matters contained in the report transmitted under the
preceding sentence.
Chapter 9 Endnotes
1 In 1984, the Semiconductor Chip Protection Act amended title 17 of
the United States Code to add a new chapter 9 entitled "Protection of
Semiconductor Chip Products." Pub. L. No. 98-620, 98 Stat. 3347.
2 In 1997, the heading for section 903 in the table of sections was
amended by adding ", transfer, licensure, and recordation" at the end
thereof, in lieu of "and transfer." Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529,
1535.
3 In 1987, section 902 was amended by adding the last sentence in
subsection (a)(2). Pub. L. No. 100-159, 101 Stat. 899, 900.
4 In 1997, section 909 was amended by correcting misspellings in
subsection (b)(1). Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529, 1535.
5 In 1990, the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act amended section 910
by adding the last two sentences to subsection (a). Pub. L. No. 101-553,
104 Stat. 2749, 2750. In 1997, a technical correction amended section
910(a) by capitalizing the first word of the second sentence. Pub. L.
No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529 1535.
6 In 1990, the Copyright Remedy Clarification Act amended section 911
by adding subsection (g). Pub. L. No. 101-553, 104
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