18 U.S.C. § 504 (CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE)
§ 504. Printing and filming of United States and foreign obligations and securities
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the following are permitted:
(1) The printing, publishing, or importation, or the making or importation of the necessary plates for such printing or publishing, of illustrations of—
(A) postage stamps of the United States,
(B) revenue stamps of the United States,
(C) any other obligation or other security of the United States, and
(D) postage stamps, revenue stamps, notes, bonds, and any other obligation or other security of any foreign government, bank, or corporation.
Illustrations permitted by the foregoing provisions of this section shall be made in accordance with the following conditions—
(i) all illustrations shall be in black and white, except that illustrations of postage stamps issued by the United States or by any foreign government and stamps issued under the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 may be in color;
(ii) all illustrations (including illustrations of uncanceled postage stamps in color and illustrations of stamps issued under the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 in color) shall be of a size less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half, in linear dimension, of each part of any matter so illustrated which is covered by subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of this paragraph, except that black and white illustrations of postage and revenue stamps issued by the United States or by any foreign government and colored illustrations of canceled postage stamps issued by the United States may be in the exact linear dimension in which the stamps were issued; and
(iii) the negatives and plates used in making the illustrations shall be destroyed after their final use in accordance with this section.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations to permit color illustrations of such currency of the United States as the Secretary determines may be appropriate for such purposes.
(2) The provisions of this section shall not permit the reproduction of illustrations of obligations or other securities, by or through electronic methods used for the acquisition, recording, retrieval, transmission, or reproduction of any obligation or other security, unless such use is authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary shall establish a system to ensure that the legitimate use of such electronic methods and retention of such reproductions by businesses, hobbyists, press or others shall not be unduly restricted.
(3) The making or importation of motion-picture films, microfilms, or slides, for projection upon a screen or for use in telecasting, of postage and revenue stamps and other obligations and securities of the United States, and postage and revenue stamps, notes, bonds, and other obligations or securities of any foreign government, bank, or corporation. No prints or other reproductions shall be made from such films or slides, except for the purposes of paragraph (1), without the permission of the Secretary of the Treasury.
For the purposes of this section the term “postage stamp” includes postage meter stamps.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 713; Pub. L. 85–921, § 1, Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1771; Pub. L. 90–353, § 1, June 20, 1968, 82 Stat. 240; Pub. L. 91–448, § 2, Oct. 14, 1970, 84 Stat. 921; Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title X, § 1077(b)(1), (2), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 1054; Pub. L. 102–550, title XV, § 1554, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4071; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(e), (f)(3), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3499.)
heading: Historical and Revision Notes
text: Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 350 (Mar. 3, 1923, ch. 218, 42 Stat. 1437; Jan. 27, 1938, ch. 10, § 2, 52 Stat. 6).
Minor changes in phraseology were made.
heading: References in Text
text: The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, referred to in par. (1)(i), (ii), subsequently renamed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, is act Mar. 16, 1934, ch. 71, 48 Stat. 451, as amended, which is classified generally to subchapter IV (§ 718 et seq.) of chapter 7 of Title 16, Conservation. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 718 of Title 16 and Tables.
heading: Amendments
text: 1996—Par. (1). Pub. L. 104–294, § 601(e)(1), substituted “The printing” for “the printing” in introductory provisions.
Par. (3). Pub. L. 104–294, § 601(e)(2), (f)(3), substituted “The making or importation of” for “the making or importation, of”.
1992—Par. (1). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1554(1), (2), in subpar. (D), substituted a period for the comma at end, in provisions following subpar. (D), struck out “for philatelic, numismatic, educational, historical, or newsworthy purposes in articles, books, journals, newspapers, or albums (but not for advertising purposes, except illustrations of stamps and paper money in philatelic or numismatic advertising of legitimate numismatists and dealers in stamps or publishers of or dealers in philatelic or numismatic articles, books, journals, newspapers, or albums).” before “Illustrations permitted”, and inserted at end “The Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations to permit color illustrations of such currency of the United States as the Secretary determines may be appropriate for such purposes.”
Par. (2). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1554(3), added par. (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3).
Par. (3). Pub. L. 102–550, § 1554(3), (4), redesignated par. (2) as (3) and struck out “but not for advertising purposes except philatelic advertising,” after “or importation,”.
1984—Par. (1)(i). Pub. L. 98–369, § 1077(b)(1), inserted “and stamps issued under the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934”.
Par. (1)(ii). Pub. L. 98–369, § 1077(b)(2), inserted “and illustrations of stamps issued under the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 in color”.
1970—Pub. L. 91–448 inserted provision including postage meter stamp within the meaning of postage stamp for the purposes of this section.
1968—Par. (1). Pub. L. 90–353 inserted provisions so as to permit colored illustrations of canceled United States postage stamps in the exact size of genuine stamps and colored illustrations of uncanceled United States and foreign stamps if the size of the illustrations is less than three-fourths or more than one and one-half times the size of the genuine stamps and permitted the use of colored illustrations of stamps in public documents relating to stamps printed by the Government Printing Office at the request of the Postmaster General.
1958—Pub. L. 85–921 permitted black and white illustrations of revenue stamps of the United States for philatelic and numismatic purposes, black and white illustrations of United States and foreign paper money and other obligations and securities for educational, historical, and newsworthy purposes, and permitted motion picture films, microfilms, and slides of United States and foreign postage and revenue stamps, paper money, and other obligations and securities, except films in connection with advertising.
heading: Effective Date of 1984 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 98–369 effective July 18, 1984, see section 1077(c) of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 718e of Title 16, Conservation.