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The McClain case is very important for establishing the principle that foreign laws that vest ownership of undiscovered antiquities in the national government create ownership that is recognized by United States courts.

The McClain decision also established several requirements for the doctrine to apply:

1. first, the national vesting law has to be sufficiently clear so as to give notice to United States citizens of what conduct is prohibited, particularly in a criminal prosecution;
2. second, the antiquities involved must have been discovered after the effective date of the statute (that is, the statute has only prospective effect), and,
3. third, the antiquities must have been found within the modern borders of the nation, as the vesting statute is not given extraterritorial effect.