In the 1907 case of Werckmeister v. American Tobacco Company, the U.S. Supreme Court examined whether a copyright infringement claim could be made against an entity that imported and sold copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. The plaintiff, Richard Werckmeister, held copyrights for certain paintings which were reproduced in lithographs by a German company and then imported into America by the defendant, American Tobacco Company. The court ruled in favor of Werckmeister stating that importing unauthorized copies was indeed an infringement under U.S Copyright law even if they were produced abroad where no such protection existed at that time. This ruling established important precedent regarding international copyright protections and affirmed that importation of unauthorized reproductions constitutes as direct infringement.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Werckmeister v. American Tobacco Company argued that the majority's decision to allow a copyright owner to seize and destroy infringing copies was too broad and could potentially lead to abuse. The dissent emphasized that while it is important for copyright owners to be able to protect their rights, this should not extend so far as allowing them complete control over all copies of their work, including those made without permission. This power, they argued, would give copyright owners an undue amount of control over the distribution of ideas and information which goes against public interest. Furthermore, they contended that such a ruling contradicts previous decisions by the court which held that copyrights are limited monopolies granted for specific purposes only.