Page:Copyright, Its History And Its Law (1912).djvu/64

 compositions) act of 1882 (45 & 46 Victoria, c. 40) ; the copyright (musical compositions) act of 1888 (51 & 52 Victoria, c. 17) ; the musical (summary proceedings) copyright act of 1902 (2 Edward VII, c. 15); and the musical copyright act of 1906 (6 Edward VII, c. 36),— following the report of the Musical Copyright Committee of 1904,—which successively met imperfections developed in applying the previous law.

After the adoption of the revised international copyright convention signed at Berlin November 13, 1908, modifying the Berne-Paris conventions, a Committee on the law of copyright consisting of seventeen publicists, authors, artists, publishers and others was appointed by minute of March 9, 1909, by the President of the Board of Trade, to consider and report upon the modification of domestic legislation in conformity with the Berlin agreement of 1908. The Committee made a report in December, 1909, strongly advising that domestic legislation be brought into line with international practice and that the copyright term in Great Britain be for life and fifty years. With the report was printed a blue-book of minutes of evidence, containing valuable appendixes which included a projet de loi type (model bill) on copyright, drafted by the International Literary and Artistic Association, and an artistic copyright bill drafted by the Artistic Copyright Society.

In the early part of 1909 an Imperial copyright conference was also held in London, attended by Crown officials and representatives from all of the self-governing dominions, at which certain resolutions for copyright betterment were adopted. Its minutes and resolutions were also presented to Parliament.

As a result of the deliberations and reports of these two bodies, "a bill to amend and consolidate the law relating to copyright" (I George V) was introduced