Copyright: Its History and Its Law Part 49

{Sidenote: Repealing clause}

SEC. 63. That all laws or parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, but nothing in this Act shall effect causes of action for infringement of copyright heretofore committed now pending in courts of the United States, or which may hereafter be inst.i.tuted; but such causes shall be prosecuted to a conclusion in the manner heretofore provided by law.

{Sidenote: Date of enforcement}

SEC. 64. That this Act shall go into effect on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and nine.

APPROVED, MARCH 4, 1909.

2. PRESIDENT'S PROCLAMATIONS

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION

Whereas it is provided by the act of Congress of March 4, 1909, ent.i.tled "An act to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright," that the benefits of said act, excepting the benefits under section 1 (_e_) thereof, as to which special conditions are imposed, shall extend to the work of an author or proprietor who is a citizen or subject of a foreign state or nation, only upon certain conditions set forth in section 8 of said act, to wit:

(_a_) When an alien author or proprietor shall be domiciled within the United States at the time of the first publication of his work: or

(_b_) When the foreign state or nation of which such author or proprietor is a citizen or subject grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens, or copyright protection substantially equal to the protection secured to such foreign author under this act or by treaty; or when such foreign state or nation is a party to an international agreement which provides for reciprocity in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which agreement the United States may, at its pleasure, become a party thereto:

And whereas it is also provided by said section that "The existence of the reciprocal conditions aforesaid shall be determined by the President of the United States, by proclamation made from time to time as the purposes of this act may require":

And whereas satisfactory evidence has been received that in Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain and her possessions, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands and possessions, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland the law permits and since July 1, 1909, has permitted to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to citizens of those countries:

Now, therefore, I, William Howard Taft, President of the United States of America, do declare and proclaim that one of the alternative conditions specified in section 8, of the act of March 4, 1909, is now fulfilled, and since July 1, 1909, has continuously been fulfilled, in respect to the citizens or subjects of Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain and her possessions, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands and possessions, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, and that the citizens or subjects of the aforementioned countries are and since July 1, 1909, have been ent.i.tled to all the benefits of the said act other than the benefits under section 1 (_e_) thereof, as to which the inquiry is still pending.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington this ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ten, and of the Independence of the [SEAL.] United States of America the one hundred and thirty-fourth.

WM. H. TAFT.

By the President: P. C. KNOX, _Secretary of State_

Luxemburg was added by proclamation of June 29, 1910, and Sweden, May 26, 1911, to go into effect June 1, 1911.

A proclamation accepting reciprocal relations with Germany as to mechanical music reproductions was issued December 8, 1910. Similar proclamations under date of June 14, 1911, covered Belgium, Luxemburg and Norway.

3. UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT RULES

RULES ADOPTED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE UNDER SECTION 25 OF AN ACT TO AMEND AND CONSOLIDATE THE ACTS RESPECTING COPYRIGHT, APPROVED MARCH 4, 1909. TO GO INTO EFFECT JULY 1, 1909.

1. The existing rules of equity practice, so far as they may be applicable, shall be enforced in proceedings inst.i.tuted under section twenty-five (25) of the act of March fourth, nineteen hundred and nine, ent.i.tled "An act to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright."

2. A copy of the alleged infringement of copyright, if actually made, and a copy of the work alleged to be infringed, should accompany the pet.i.tion, or its absence be explained; except in cases of alleged infringement by the public performance of dramatic and dramatico-musical compositions, the delivery of lectures, sermons, addresses, and so forth, the infringement of copyright upon sculptures and other similar works and in any case where it is not feasible.

3. Upon the inst.i.tution of any action, suit, or proceeding, or at any time thereafter, and before the entry of final judgment or decree therein, the plaintiff or complainant, or his authorized agent or attorney, may file with the clerk of any court given jurisdiction under section 34 of the act of March 4, 1909, an affidavit stating upon the best of his knowledge, information, and belief, the number and location, as near as may be, of the alleged infringing copies, records, plates, molds, matrices, etc., or other means for making the copies alleged to infringe the copyright, and the value of the same, and with such affidavit shall file with the clerk a bond executed by at least two sureties and approved by the court or a commissioner thereof.

4. Such bond shall bind the sureties in a specified sum, to be fixed by the court, but not less than twice the reasonable value of such infringing copies, plates, records, molds, matrices, or other means for making such infringing copies, and be conditioned for the prompt prosecution of the action, suit or proceeding; for the return of said articles to the defendant, if they or any of them are adjudged not to be infringements, or if the action abates, or is discontinued before they are returned to the defendant; and for the payment to the defendant of any damages which the court may award to him against the plaintiff or complainant. Upon the filing of said affidavit and bond, and the approval of said bond, the clerk shall issue a writ directed to the marshal of the district where the said infringing copies, plates, records, molds, matrices, etc., or other means of making such infringing copies shall be stated in said affidavit to be located, and generally to any marshal of the United States, directing the said marshal to forthwith seize and hold the same subject to the order of the court issuing said writ, or of the court of the district in which the seizure shall be made.

5. The marshal shall thereupon seize said articles or any smaller or larger part thereof he may then or thereafter find, using such force as may be reasonably necessary in the premises, and serve on the defendant a copy of the affidavit, writ, and bond by delivering the same to him personally, if he can be found within the district, of if he can not be found, to his agent, if any, or to the person from whose possession the articles are taken, or if the owner, agent, or such person can not be found within the district by leaving said copy at the usual place of abode of such owner or agent with a person of suitable age and discretion, or at the place where said articles are found, and shall make immediate return of such seizure, or attempted seizure, to the court. He shall also attach to said articles a tag or label stating the fact of such seizure and warning all persons from in any manner interfering therewith.

6. A marshal who has seized alleged infringing articles, shall retain them in his possession, keeping them in a secure place, subject to the order of the court.

7. Within three days after the articles are seized, and a copy of the affidavit, writ and bond are served as hereinbefore provided, the defendant shall serve upon the clerk a notice that he excepts to the amount of the penalty of the bond, or to the sureties of the plaintiff or complainant, or both, otherwise he shall be deemed to have waived all objection to the amount of the penalty of the bond and the sufficiency of the sureties thereon. If the court sustain the exceptions it may order a new bond to be executed by the plaintiff or complainant, or in default thereof within a time to be named by the court, the property to be returned to the defendant.

8. Within ten days after service of such notice, the attorney of the plaintiff or complainant shall serve upon the defendant or his attorney a notice of the justification of the sureties, and said sureties shall justify before the court or a judge thereof at the time therein stated.

9. The defendant, if he does not except to the amount of the penalty of the bond or the sufficiency of the sureties of the plaintiff or complainant, may make application to the court for the return to him of the articles seized, upon filing an affidavit stating all material facts and circ.u.mstances tending to show that the articles seized are not infringing copies, records, plates, molds, matrices, or means for making the copies alleged to infringe the copyright.

10. Thereupon the court in its discretion, and after such hearing as it may direct, may order such return upon the filing by the defendant of a bond executed by at least two sureties, binding them in a specified sum to be fixed in the discretion of the court, and conditioned for the delivery of said specified articles to abide the order of the court. The plaintiff or complainant may require such sureties to justify within ten days of the filing of such bond.

11. Upon the granting of such application and the justification of the sureties on the bond, the marshal shall immediately deliver the articles seized to the defendant.

12. Any service required to be performed by any marshal may be performed by any deputy of such marshal.

13. For services in cases arising under this section, the marshal shall be ent.i.tled to the same fees as are allowed for similar services in other cases.

4. UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE REGULATIONS

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT

{Sidenote: Copyright under act}

1. Copyright under the act of Congress ent.i.tled: "An act to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright," approved March 4, 1909, is ordinarily secured by printing and publishing a copyrightable work with a notice of claim in the form prescribed by the statute. Registration can only be made _after_ such publication, but the statute expressly provides, in certain cases, for registration of ma.n.u.script works.

WHO MAY SECURE COPYRIGHT

{Sidenote: Persons ent.i.tled to copyright}

2. The persons ent.i.tled by the act to copyright protection for their works are:

(1) The _author_ of the work, if he is:

(_a_) A citizen of the United States, or

(_b_) A resident alien domiciled in the United States at the time of the first publication of his work, or

(_c_) A citizen or subject of any country which grants either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens. The existence of reciprocal copyright conditions is determined by presidential proclamation.

(2) The _proprietor_ of a work. The word "proprietor" is here used to indicate a person who derives his t.i.tle to the work from the author. If the author of the work should be a person who could not himself claim the benefit of the copyright act, the proprietor can not claim it.

(3) The _executors_, _administrators_ or _a.s.signs_ of the above-mentioned author or proprietor.

{Sidenote: Copyright registration}