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10 

KIRTSAENG v. JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. 

Opinion of the Court 

Court  has  repeatedly  acknowledged,  the  word  evades  a 
uniform,  consistent  meaning.  See  Kucana  v.  Holder,  558 
U. S. 233, 245 (2010) (“ ‘under’ is chameleon”); Ardestani v. 
INS,  502  U. S.  129,  135  (1991)  (“under”  has  “many  dic­
tionary  definitions”  and  “must  draw  its  meaning  from  its
context”).

A  far  more  serious  difficulty  arises  out  of  the  uncer­
tainty and complexity surrounding the second step’s effort 
to  read  the  necessary  geographical  limitation  into  the  word
“applicable”  (or  the  equivalent).  Where,  precisely,  is  the
Copyright  Act  “applicable”?    The  Act  does  not  instantly 
protect  an  American  copyright  holder  from  unauthorized
piracy  taking  place  abroad.    But  that  fact  does  not  mean 
the Act is inapplicable to copies made abroad.  As a matter 
of  ordinary  English,  one  can  say  that  a  statute  imposing,
say,  a  tariff  upon  “any  rhododendron  grown  in  Nepal” 
applies  to  all  Nepalese  rhododendrons.  And,  similarly,
one can say that the American Copyright Act is applicable 
to  all  pirated  copies,  including  those  printed  overseas.
Indeed,  the  Act  itself  makes  clear  that  (in  the  Solicitor 
General’s  language)  foreign-printed  pirated  copies  are  “sub­
ject  to”  the  Act.
  §602(a)(2)  (2006  ed.,  Supp.  V)  (refer-
ring  to  importation  of  copies  “the  making  of  which  either
constituted  an  infringement  of  copyright,  or  which  would
have  constituted  an  infringement  of  copyright  if  this  title
had been applicable”); Brief for United States 5.  See also 
post,  at  6  (suggesting  that  “made  under”  may  be  read  as
“subject to”). 

The  appropriateness  of  this  linguistic  usage  is  under­
scored  by  the  fact  that  §104  of  the  Act  itself  says  that 
works  “subject  to  protection  under  this  title”  include  un­
published  works  “without  regard  to  the  nationality  or 
domicile of the author,” and works “first published” in any 
one of the nearly 180 nations that have signed a copyright 
treaty  with  the  United  States.    §§104(a),  (b)  (2006  ed.)
(emphasis  added);  §101  (2006  ed.,  Supp.  V)  (defining