Except as otherwise provided by law, no recovery shall be had for any infringement of a copyright covered by this subsection committed more than three years prior to the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for infringement in the action, except that the period between the date of receipt of a written claim for compensation by the Department or agency of the Government or corporation owned or controlled by the United States, as the case may be, having authority to settle such claim and the date of mailing by the Government of a notice to the claimant that his claim has been denied shall not be counted as a part of the three years, unless suit is brought before the last-mentioned date.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any claim arising in a foreign country.
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(e) Subsections (b) and (c) of this section apply to exclusive rights in mask works under chapter 9 of title 17 to the same extent as such subsections apply to copyrights.
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Title 44 — Public Printing and Documents
Chapter 21 — National Archives and Records Administration
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Sec. 2117. Limitation on liability [6]
When letters and other intellectual productions (exclusive of patented material, published works under copyright protection, and unpublished works for which copyright registration has been made) come into the custody or possession of the Archivist, the United States or its agents are not liable for infringement of copyright or analogous rights arising out of use of the materials for display, inspection, research, reproduction, or other purposes.


