diff --git a/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/exporter.py b/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/exporter.py
index 60fcb23..775fe39 100644
--- a/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/exporter.py
+++ b/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/exporter.py
@@ -100,14 +100,13 @@ class Exporter(LoggingConfigurable):
     def default_config(self):
         return Config()
 
-    @nbformat.docstring_nbformat_mod
     def from_notebook_node(self, nb, resources=None, **kw):
         """
         Convert a notebook from a notebook node instance.
 
         Parameters
         ----------
-        nb : :class:`~{nbformat_mod}.nbbase.NotebookNode`
+        nb : :class:`~IPython.nbformat.current.NotebookNode`
           Notebook node
         resources : dict
           Additional resources that can be accessed read/write by
diff --git a/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/templateexporter.py b/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/templateexporter.py
index b3f1451..9ca1f65 100644
--- a/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/templateexporter.py
+++ b/IPython/nbconvert/exporters/templateexporter.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ from IPython.utils.traitlets import MetaHasTraits, Unicode, List, Dict, Any
 from IPython.utils.importstring import import_item
 from IPython.utils import py3compat, text
 
-from IPython.nbformat.current import docstring_nbformat_mod
 from IPython.nbconvert import filters
 from .exporter import Exporter
 
@@ -193,14 +192,13 @@ class TemplateExporter(Exporter):
                 self.log.info("Loaded template %s", try_name)
                 break
 
-    @docstring_nbformat_mod
     def from_notebook_node(self, nb, resources=None, **kw):
         """
         Convert a notebook from a notebook node instance.
     
         Parameters
         ----------
-        nb : :class:`~{nbformat_mod}.nbbase.NotebookNode`
+        nb : :class:`~IPython.nbformat.current.NotebookNode`
           Notebook node
         resources : dict
           Additional resources that can be accessed read/write by
diff --git a/IPython/nbformat/current.py b/IPython/nbformat/current.py
index 6bba5c2..aa00cb4 100644
--- a/IPython/nbformat/current.py
+++ b/IPython/nbformat/current.py
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 from __future__ import print_function
 
-from xml.etree import ElementTree as ET
 import re
 
 from IPython.utils.py3compat import unicode_type
@@ -34,16 +33,6 @@ current_nbformat_minor = nbformat_minor
 current_nbformat_module = _v_latest.__name__
 
 
-def docstring_nbformat_mod(func):
-    """Decorator for docstrings referring to classes/functions accessed through
-    nbformat.current.
-
-    Put {nbformat_mod} in the docstring in place of 'IPython.nbformat.v3'.
-    """
-    func.__doc__ = func.__doc__.format(nbformat_mod=current_nbformat_module)
-    return func
-
-
 class NBFormatError(ValueError):
     pass