term of imprisonment of up to 10 years, to bear on the distribution of a sufficient quantity of any infringing goods simply because of the presence here of a factor-interstate transportation-not otherwise thought relevant to copyright law. The Government thereby presumes congressional adoption of an indirect but blunderbuss solution to a problem treated with precision when considered directly. To the contrary, the discrepancy between the two approaches convinces us that Congress had no intention to reach copyright infringement when it enacted § 2314.

D

The broad consequences of the Government's theory, both in the field of copyright and in kindred fields of intellectual property law, provide a final and dispositive factor against reading §2314 in the manner suggested. For example, in Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U. S. 539 (1985), this Court very recently held that The Nation, a weekly magazine of political commentary, had infringed former President Ford's copyright in the unpublished manuscript of his memoirs by verbatim excerpting of some 300 words from the work. It rejected The Nation's argument that the excerpting constituted fair use. Presented with the facts of that case as a hypothetical at oral argument in the present litigation, the Government conceded that its theory of § 2314 would permit prosecution of the magazine if it transported copies of sufficient value across state lines. Tr. of Oral Arg. 35. Whatever the wisdom or propriety of The Nation's decision to publish the excerpts, we would pause, in the absence of any explicit indication of congressional intention, to bring such conduct within the purview of a criminal statute making available serious penalties for the interstate transportation of goods "stolen, converted or taken by fraud."

Likewise, the field of copyright does not cabin the Government's theory, which would as easily encompass the law of patents and other forms of intellectual property. If "the

intangible idea protected by the copyright is effectively made tangible by its embodiment upon the tapes," United States v. Gottesman, 724 F. 2d 1517, 1520 (CA11 1984), phonorecords, or films shipped in interstate commerce as to render those items stolen goods for purposes of § 2314, so too would the intangible idea protected by a patent be made tangible by its embodiment in an article manufactured in accord with patented specifications. Thus, as the Government as much as acknowledged at argument, Tr. of Oral Arg. 29, its view of the statute would readily permit its application to interstate shipments of patent-infringing goods. Despite its undoubted power to do so, however, Congress has not provided criminal penalties for distribution of goods infringing valid patents.19 Thus, the rationale supporting application of the statute under the circumstances of this case would equally justify its use in wide expanses of the law which Congress has evidenced no intention to enter by way of criminal sanction.20 This factor militates strongly against the reading proffered by the Government. Cf. Williams v. United States, 458

U. S., at 287.

19 Congress instead has relied on provisions affording patent owners a civil cause of action. 35 U. S. C. §§ 281-294. Among the available remedies are treble damages for willful infringement. § 284; see, e. g., American Safety Table Co. v. Schreiber, 415 F. 2d 373, 378–379 (CA2 1969), cert. denied, 396 U. S. 1038 (1970). See generally 2 P. Rosenberg, Patent Law Fundamentals § 17.08 (2d ed. 1985). The only criminal provision relating to patents is 18 U. S. C. § 497, which proscribes the forgery, counterfeiting, or false alteration of letters patent, or the uttering thereof. See also 35 U. S. C. §292 ($500 penalty, one-half to go to person suing and one-half to the United States, for false marking of patent status).

"The Government's rationale would also apply to goods infringing trademark rights. Yet, despite having long and extensively legislated in this area, see federal Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act), 15 U. S. C. § 1051 et seq., in the modern era Congress only recently has resorted to criminal sanctions to control trademark infringement. See Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98-473, ch. XV, 98 Stat. 2178. See also S. Rep. No. 98-526, pp. 1-2, 5 (1984); 2 J. McCarthy, Trademarks and Unfair Competition § 30:39 (2d ed. 1984).

No more than other legislation do criminal statutes take on straitjackets upon enactment. In sanctioning the use of § 2314 in the manner urged by the Government here, the Courts of Appeals understandably have sought to utilize an existing and readily available tool to combat the increasingly serious problem of bootlegging, piracy, and copyright infringement. Nevertheless, the deliberation with which Congress over the last decade has addressed the problem of copyright infringement for profit, as well as the precision with which it has chosen to apply criminal penalties in this area, demonstrates anew the wisdom of leaving it to the legislature to define crime and prescribe penalties." Here, the language of § 2314 does not "plainly and unmistakably" cover petitioner Dowling's conduct, United States v. Lacher, 134 U. S. 624, 628 (1890); the purpose of the provision to fill gaps in state law enforcement does not couch the problem under attack; and the rationale employed to apply the statute to

21 Indeed, in opposing the petition for a writ of certiorari in this case, the Government acknowledged that it no longer needs § 2314 to prosecute and punish serious copyright infringement. Adverting to the most recent congressional copyright action, it advised the Court:

"[A]pplication of Section 2314... to the sort of conduct involved in this case is of considerably diminished significance since passage, subsequent to the offenses involved in this case, of the Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-180, 96 Stat. 91 et seq. (codified at 17 U. S. C. 506(a) and 18 U. S. C. 2318, 2319). The new statute provides for felony treatment for most serious cases of copyright infringement involving sound recordings and audiovisual materials and trafficking in counterfeit labels, while prior law provided only for misdemeanor treatment for first offenses under the copyright statutes. In view of the increased penalties provided under the new statute, prosecutors are likely to have less occasion to invoke other criminal statutes in connection with copyright infringing activity." Brief in Opposition 8.

These observations suggest the conclusion we have reached-that § 2314 was not in the first place the proper means by which to counter the spread of copyright infringement in sound recordings and motion pictures.

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POWELL, J., dissenting

petitioner's conduct would support its extension to significant bodies of law that Congress gave no indication it intended to touch. In sum, Congress has not spoken with the requisite clarity. Invoking the "time-honored interpretive guideline" that "ambiguity concerning the ambit of criminal statutes should be resolved in favor of lenity,"" Liparota v. United States, 471 U. S., at 427, quoting Rewis v. United States, 401 U. S. 808, 812 (1971), we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals.

It is so ordered.

JUSTICE POWELL, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE WHITE join, dissenting.

The Court holds today that 18 U. S. C § 2314 does not apply to this case because the rights of a copyright holder are "different" from the rights of owners of other kinds of property. The Court does not explain, however, how the differences it identifies are relevant either under the language of § 2314 or in terms of the purposes of the statute. Because I believe that the language of § 2314 fairly covers the interstate transportation of goods containing unauthorized use of copyrighted material, I dissent.

Section 2314 provides for criminal penalties against any person who "transports in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more, knowing the same to have been stolen, converted or taken by fraud." There is no dispute that the items Dowling transported in interstate commercebootleg Elvis Presley records-are goods, wares, or merchandise. Nor is there a dispute that the records contained copyrighted Elvis Presley performances that Dowling had no right to reproduce and distribute. The only issue here is whether the unauthorized use of a copyright may be "equate[d] with theft, conversion, or fraud" for purposes of § 2314. Ante, at 217. Virtually every court that has considered the question has concluded that § 2314 is broad

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473 U. S.

enough to cover activities such as Dowling's. See, e. g., United States v. Drum, 733 F. 2d 1503, 1505–1506 (CA11), cert. denied, 469 U. S. 1061 (1984); United States v. Whetzel, 191 U. S. App. D. C. 184, 187, n. 10, 589 F. 2d 707, 710, n. 10 (1978); United States v. Berkwitt, 619 F. 2d 649, 656–658 (CA7 1980); United States v. Sam Goody, Inc., 506 F. Supp. 380, 385–391 (EDNY 1981). The only case cited by the Court that lends support to its holding is United States v. Smith, 686 F. 2d 234 (CA5 1982). The Court's decision today is thus contrary to the clear weight of authority.

The Court focuses on the fact that "[t]he copyright owner .. holds no ordinary chattel." Ante, at 216. The Court quite correctly notes that a copyright is "comprise[d] . . . of carefully defined and carefully delimited interests," ibid., and that the copyright owner does not enjoy "complete control over all possible uses of his work,'" ante, at 217, quoting Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 464 U. S. 417, 432 (1984). But among the rights a copyright owner enjoys is the right to publish, copy, and distribute the copyrighted work. Indeed, these rights define virtually the entire scope of an owner's rights in intangible property such as a copyright. Interference with these rights may be "different" from the physical removal of tangible objects, but it is not clear why this difference matters under the terms of § 2314. The statute makes no distinction between tangible and intangible property. The basic goal of the National Stolen Property Act, thwarting the interstate transportation of misappropriated goods, is not served by the judicial imposition of this distinction. Although the rights of copyright owners

'In United States v. Drum, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit considered and rejected the arguments offered in United States v. Smith and reiterated by the Court today. I agree with Drum that neither the language nor purpose of § 2314 supports the view that the statute does not reach the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copyrighted material.