35 U.S.C. § 272
Section 272 · Temporary presence in the United States
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 6 court decisions — leading case National Steel Car, Ltd. v. Canadian Pacific Railway, Ltd. (2004)
Most recently applied in Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. v. Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA (October 2015)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The use of any invention in any vessel, aircraft or vehicle of any country which affords similar privileges to vessels, aircraft or vehicles of the United States, entering the United States temporarily or accidentally, shall not constitute infringement of any patent, if the invention is used exclusively for the needs of the vessel, aircraft or vehicle and is not sold in or used for the manufacture of anything to be sold in or exported from the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Amendment of Section
Pub. L. 103–465, title V, §§533(b)(4), 534(a), (b)(3), Dec. 8, 1994, 108 Stat. 4989, 4990, provided that, effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, this section is amended by striking “not sold” and inserting “not offered for sale or sold”.
Historical and Revision Notes
This section follows the requirement of the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, to which the United States is a party, and also codifies the holding of the Supreme Court that use of a patented invention on board a foreign ship does not infringe a patent.
Effective Date of 1994 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 103–465 effective on date that is one year after date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States [Jan. 1, 1995], with provisions relating to earliest filed patent application, see section 534(a), (b)(3) of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 154 of this title.