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COPYRIGHT The Act of 1891.—The provisions of the copyright law, as Australia, &c. An American work which has been duly amended by the Act of 1891, may be briefly summarized as entered for copyright in Great Britain secures, as a British follows :— A. Works of Literature.—1. Copyright is granted to authors, publication secures, the protection of copyright under the whether resident or non-resident, for a term of twenty-eight years. provisions of the Bern convention throughout the territory A further term of fourteen years is granted to the author if at of the several states that are parties to that convention. the expiration of the first term he be still living, or to his widow Amendments to the copyright law have been made as or children if he be dead. Unless the author survives the first term, or leaves widow or children, the copyright is limited to follows : — 3rd March 1893—Producers of article entitled twenty-eight years. The essential change indicated in this to copyright who had heretofore failed to make delivery, section of the law is the extension of copyright privileges to non- according to the regulation in force, of two copies of the resident producers. 2. In order to secure copyright, all editions article to be copyrighted, but who had complied with of the works of all authors, resident or non-resident, must be entirely manufactured within the United States, the term all the other provisions of the Act, and who shall “manufactured ” including the setting of type as well as printing before 1st March 1893 make such delivery, shall be and binding. Prior to 1891 the works of American authors could entitled to complete the entry of copyright accordingly. be put into print on either side of the Atlantic. This manufacturing condition was insisted on by the typographical unions. 2nd March 1895—The penalty to be paid in case of 3. The country of which a non-resident author is citizen must the infringement of the copyright of a photograph made concede to American authors copyright privileges equivalent to from any object not a work of the Fine Arts shall be limited those which it concedes to its own authors. 4. As under the to a maximum of $5000; and in case of the infringement British Act, the works of resident as well as of non-resident authors must be published in the home country not later than in of a work of the Fine Arts, or of a photograph of the same, any other country. 5. The regulations previously in force for to a maximum of $10,000, one-half of said penalties to be making the entries of copyright are continued. 6. While the paid to the proprietors of the copyright, and the other half importation of editions of the books so copyrighted is prohibited, to the Treasury of the United States. 1st January 1897 whether the authors of the same be American or foreign, invoices —The performance of dramatic and musical compositions may be imported of not more than two copies each, said copies being certified to be “for use and not for sale.” 7. Foreign periodicals, without the consent of the authors involves a liability for of which there are no editions printed from type set in the United damages of not less than $100 for the first performance, States, cannot secure an American copyright. The importation and $50 for every subsequent performance as to the Court of such periodicals is unrestricted except for such numbers as shall appear just. If the unlawful performance be wilful contain reprints of material that has already in some other form and for profit, the party responsible shall be guilty of a secured an American copyright. An English author who copyrights and publishes a volume in the United States, some chapters misdemeanour, and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for of which have previously been printed in an English magazine, is a period not exceeding one year. 19th February 1897— not able to prevent the reprinting in the United States of an A Bill establishing as the Copyright Department of the unauthorized issue of those chapters. In case all the chapters Library of Congress a Bureau of Copyrights, the head of have been printed in a foreign periodical before the publication of the American edition, its American copyright has probably been which bears the title Register of Copyrights. 3rd March forfeited. 8. The foreign author has the same control as the 1897—Through a modification of section 4963, the renative author over translations of such of his books as have been sponsibility for enjoining the publication or the selling of copyrighted in the United States. There is, however, no prohibi- any article made or imported in violation of the United tion of the importation of an edition of a work printed in a language other than that in which it has secured its copyright. States copyright laws is placed upon the Circuit Court of 9. Authors or their assigns have the exclusive right to dramatize the United States in the city of the person complaining of and to translate any of their works for which copyright has been violation. obtained under the laws of the United States. The salaries of the staff of the Bureau of Copyrights, as B. Works of Art.—Foreign artists and designers are accorded the term or terms accorded to foreign authors and to domestic established in 1897, amounted to $36,440. The Approartists. To reproductions in the form of chromos, lithographs, or priation Bill passed by Congress in March 1900, inphotographs the condition of American manufacture is attached, creasing the appropriation for the library as a whole, but not to the more artistic forms of reproduction, so that foreign gave the staff of the Copyright Bureau an additional authors can control engravings or photogravures of their designs, whether these are manufactured in Europe or in the United allowance, making the total $51,080. According to the States. This provision is held by artists and art publishers of annual statement of the Register of Copyrights of 30th the Continent, who had in past years suffered severely from December 1899, the fees received during the twelve preAmerican appropriations of their productions, to be of special ceding months for copyright entries and for the recording importance. In the case of a painting, drawing, statue, statuary, or a model or design for a work of the Fine Arts, in addition to of assignments aggregated $60,803.50. The copyright the title, if there be one, a description and a photograph must be entries comprised 78,370 titles of United States producsent. tions, and 8122 titles of foreign productions. These C. Music.—Foreign composers are given the same terms that figures include works of art and musical compositions. are accorded to Americans. American manufacture is not necessary, but the condition of reciprocity is the same as in the case During the years immediately preceding 1900 the producers of copyright property paid into the United States of books. The Act came into effect 1st July 1891. The provisions Treasury from $15,000 to $20,000 annually in excess of having to do with international copyright become operative the cost of carrying on the Copyright Bureau, and with the in the case of a foreign state only when the President increased expenditure for the maintenance of the bureau proclaims that the state has fulfilled the condition of there will still apparently be a surplus of fees amounting to reciprocity. The Act has been put into force with foreign $10,000. In addition to this, the producers of copyrighted states as follows :—1st July 1891, Great Britain, Belgium, books deliver to the library of Congress a copy required as a France, Switzerland; 8 th March 1892, Germany (by separate voucher for the copyright entry and a further copy for the treaty); 31st October 1892, Italy; 8th May 1893, Den- use of the nation. The books so delivered aggregate from mark ; 15th July 1895, Spain; 20th July 1895, Portugal; 6100 to 6500 works each year. The existing American copyright law is defective in several 27th February 1896, Mexico ; 13th April 1896, Sweden and Norway; 25th May 1896, Chile ; 19th October 1899, Costa respects, and the following considerations are submitted with a to its amendment:— Rica; 20th November 1899, the kingdom of the Netherlands. view 1. The condition that books or works of art must he “manuIn the case of each state the territory covered by the provi- factured ” in America in order to secure American copyright should sions of the law includes the possessions, dependencies, &c. be eliminated. In case it may not prove practicable to secure the of the manufacturing condition, consideration ought cerThe copyright agreement with Great Britain, therefore, abolition tainly to be given promptly to the just claims of authors whose covers the Crown colonies of the empire, such as India, hooks are originally produced in some language other than Engand the independent dominions and states, such as Canada, lish. There is no logical connexion between the right of an