Copyright: Its History and Its Law Part 48

{Sidenote: Bond of register of copyrights}

SEC. 50. That the register of copyrights shall give bond to the United States in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, in form to be approved by the Solicitor of the Treasury and with sureties satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury, for the faithful discharge of his duties.

{Sidenote: Annual report of register of copyrights}

SEC. 51. That the register of copyrights shall make an annual report to the Librarian of Congress, to be printed in the annual report on the Library of Congress, of all copyright business for the previous fiscal year, including the number and kind of works which have been deposited in the copyright office during the fiscal year, under the provisions of this Act.

{Sidenote: Seal of copyright office}

SEC. 52. That the seal provided under the Act of July eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and at present used in the copyright office, shall continue to be the seal thereof, and by it all papers issued from the copyright office requiring authentication shall be authenticated.

{Sidenote: Rules for the registration of copyrights}

SEC. 53. That, subject to the approval of the Librarian of Congress, the register of copyrights shall be authorized to make rules and regulations for the registration of claims to copyright as provided by this Act.

{Sidenote: Record books}

{Sidenote: Entry of copyright}

SEC. 54. That the register of copyrights shall provide and keep such record books in the copyright office as are required to carry out the provisions of this Act, and whenever deposit has been made in the copyright office of a copy of any work under the provisions of this Act he shall make entry thereof.

{Sidenote: Certificate of registration}

{Sidenote: Certificate for book to state receipt of affidavit}

{Sidenote: Certificate may be given to any person}

{Sidenote: Receipt for copies deposited}

SEC. 55. That in the case of each entry the person recorded as the claimant of the copyright shall be ent.i.tled to a certificate of registration under seal of the copyright office, to contain his name and address, the t.i.tle of the work upon which copyright is claimed, the date of the deposit of the copies of such work, and such marks as to cla.s.s designation and entry number as shall fully identify the entry. In the case of a book the certificate shall also state the receipt of the affidavit as provided by section sixteen of this Act, and the date of the completion of the printing, or the date of the publication of the book, as stated in the said affidavit. The register of copyrights shall prepare a printed form for the said certificate, to be filled out in each case as above provided for, which certificate, sealed with the seal of the copyright office, shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, be given to any person making application for the same, and the said certificate shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. In addition to such certificate the register of copyrights shall furnish, upon request, without additional fee, a receipt for the copies of the work deposited to complete the registration.

{Sidenote: Index to copyright registrations}

{Sidenote: Catalogue of copyright entries}

{Sidenote: Catalogue cards}

{Sidenote: Catalogues and indexes prima facie evidence}

SEC. 56. That the register of copyrights shall fully index all copyright registrations and a.s.signments and shall print at periodic intervals a catalogue of the t.i.tles of articles deposited and registered for copyright, together with suitable indexes, and at stated intervals shall print complete and indexed catalogues for each cla.s.s of copyright entries, and may thereupon, if expedient, destroy the original ma.n.u.script catalogue cards containing the t.i.tles included in such printed volumes and representing the entries made during such intervals.

The current catalogues of copyright entries and the index volumes herein provided for shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein as regards any copyright registration.

{Sidenote: Distribution of catalogue of copyright entries}

{Sidenote: Subscription price}

{Sidenote: Superintendent of Doc.u.ments to receive subscriptions}

SEC. 57. That the said printed current catalogues as they are issued shall be promptly distributed by the copyright office to the collectors of customs of the United States and to the postmasters of all exchange offices of receipt of foreign mails, in accordance with revised lists of such collectors of customs and postmasters prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, and they shall also be furnished to all parties desiring them at a price to be determined by the register of copyrights, not exceeding five dollars per annum for the complete catalogue of copyright entries and not exceeding one dollar per annum for the catalogues issued during the year for any one cla.s.s of subjects. The consolidated catalogues and indexes shall also be supplied to all persons ordering them at such prices as may be determined to be reasonable, and all subscriptions for the catalogues shall be received by the Superintendent of Public Doc.u.ments, who shall forward the said publications; and the moneys thus received shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States and accounted for under such laws and Treasury regulations as shall be in force at the time.

{Sidenote: Record books, etc., open to inspection}

{Sidenote: Copies may be taken of entries in record books}

SEC. 58. That the record books of the copyright office, together with the indexes to such record books, and all works deposited and retained in the copyright office, shall be open to public inspection; and copies may be taken of the copyright entries actually made in such record books, subject to such safeguards and regulations as shall be prescribed by the register of copyrights and approved by the Librarian of Congress.

{Sidenote: Disposition of copyright deposits}

{Sidenote: Preservation of copyright deposits}

SEC. 59. That of the articles deposited in the copyright office under the provisions of the copyright laws of the United States or of this Act, the Librarian of Congress shall determine what books and other articles shall be transferred to the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, including the law library, and what other books or articles shall be placed in the reserve collections of the Library of Congress for sale or exchange, or be transferred to other governmental libraries in the District of Columbia for use therein.

{Sidenote: Disposal of copyright deposits}

{Sidenote: Ma.n.u.script copies to be preserved}

SEC. 60. That of any articles undisposed of as above provided, together with all t.i.tles and correspondence relating thereto, the Librarian of Congress and the register of copyrights jointly shall, at suitable intervals, determine what of these received during any period of years it is desirable or useful to preserve in the permanent files of the copyright office, and, after due notice as hereinafter provided, may within their discretion cause the remaining articles and other things to be destroyed: _Provided_, That there shall be printed in the Catalogue of Copyright Entries from February to November, inclusive, a statement of the years of receipt of such articles and a notice to permit any author, copyright proprietor, or other lawful claimant to claim and remove before the expiration of the month of December of that year anything found which relates to any of his productions deposited or registered for copyright within the period of years stated, not reserved or disposed of as provided for in this Act: _And provided further_, That no ma.n.u.script of an unpublished work shall be destroyed during its term of copyright without specific notice to the copyright proprietor of record, permitting him to claim and remove it.

{Sidenote: Fees}

{Sidenote: Fee for registration}

{Sidenote: Fee for certificate}

{Sidenote: Fee for recording a.s.signment}

{Sidenote: Fee for copy of a.s.signment}

{Sidenote: Fee for recording notice of user}

{Sidenote: Fee for comparing a.s.signment}

{Sidenote: Fee for recording renewal}

{Sidenote: Fee for recording transfer}

{Sidenote: Fee for search}

{Sidenote: Only one registration required}

SEC. 61. That the register of copyrights shall receive, and the persons to whom the services designated are rendered shall pay, the following fees: For the registration of any work subject to copyright, deposited under the provisions of this Act, one dollar, which sum is to include a certificate of registration under seal: _Provided_, That in the case of photographs the fee shall be fifty cents where a certificate is not demanded. For every additional certificate of registration made, fifty cents. For recording and certifying any instrument of writing for the a.s.signment of copyright, or any such license specified in section one, subsection (e), or for any copy of such a.s.signment or license, duly certified, if not over three hundred words in length, one dollar; if more than three hundred and less than one thousand words in length, two dollars; if more than one thousand words in length, one dollar additional for each one thousand words or fraction thereof over three hundred words. For recording the notice of user or acquiescence specified in section one, subsection (e), twenty-five cents for each notice if not over fifty words, and an additional twenty-five cents for each additional one hundred words. For comparing any copy of an a.s.signment with the record of such doc.u.ment in the copyright office and certifying the same under seal, one dollar. For recording the extension or renewal of copyright provided for in sections twenty-three and twenty-four of this Act, fifty cents. For recording the transfer of the proprietorship of copyrighted articles, ten cents for each t.i.tle of a book or other article, in addition to the fee prescribed for recording the instrument of a.s.signment. For any requested search of copyright office records, indexes, or deposits, fifty cents for each full hour of time consumed in making such search: _Provided_, That only one registration at one fee shall be required in the case of several volumes of the same book deposited at the same time.

{Sidenote: Definitions: "date of publication"}

{Sidenote: "Author"}

SEC. 62. That in the interpretation and construction of this Act "the date of publication" shall in the case of a work of which copies are reproduced for sale or distribution be held to be the earliest date when copies of the first authorized edition were placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed by the proprietor of the copyright or under his authority, and the word "author" shall include an employer in the case of works made for hire.