Page:Copyright, Its History And Its Law (1912).djvu/317

 IMPORTATION 285

other than English," is excepted from the manufac- turing clause, it follows that such original text cannot be denied importation on copyright grounds, though importation might be restrained as a matter of equity by an assignee who had bought for the American market the right to publish here. In the case, how- ever, of Liddel and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, of which an American edition was copyrighted previous to the law of 189 1, on a question raised by the Ameri- can Book Co., the Secretary of the Treasury held in 1901 (Treas. dec. no. 22781) that the English edition could not be denied importation, as the law previous to 1 89 1 did not contain the prohibition incident to the manufacturing clause. The Attorney-General in this case considered that while the clause against importation, being remedial, might affect prior copy- right, yet as it particularly applied to books "so copy- righted" as not to be imported during the existence of "such copyright," it should be inferred that only books copyrighted under that act should be denied importation — the law in general being prospective in its effect. These two earlier opinions were taken into consideration in the opinion in 1909 by Attor- ney-General Wickersham, who held that the language of the new code did not warrant the same construc- tion.

Under the law of 189 1, the Secretary of the Treas- Printing ury held in 1903 (Treas. dec. no. 24742) that books within printed abroad from type set or plates made within ^°^^ ^ the United States could not be prohibited importa- tion under the manufacturing clause; but the clause has been so amended in the code of 1909 that print- ing in this country from type set within the United States or from plates made within the country from type thus set, is required as a condition of copyright, and copyright does not hold if any of these three con-