diff --git a/openupgradelib/__init__.py b/openupgradelib/__init__.py
index 43459b9d..3e3214c8 100755
--- a/openupgradelib/__init__.py
+++ b/openupgradelib/__init__.py
@@ -8,13 +8,17 @@
 __license__ = "AGPL-3"
 
 
-if sys.version_info >= (3, 8):
-    from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
-else:
-    from importlib_metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
-
 try:
-    __version__ = version("openupgradelib")
-except PackageNotFoundError:
-    # package is not installed
+    if sys.version_info >= (3, 8):
+        from importlib.metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
+    else:
+        from importlib_metadata import version, PackageNotFoundError
+except ImportError:
+    # this happens when setup.py imports openupgradelib
     pass
+else:
+    try:
+        __version__ = version("openupgradelib")
+    except PackageNotFoundError:
+        # package is not installed
+        pass