THE matter of copyright is one which admittedly requires thorough revision. No one seems able to explain why it is that in spite of conferences and delegations, congresses and discussions, the product of a man's brain is still at the mercy of regulations which even those in authority are unable to define. As a matter of fact, the copyright itself is merely a registration, which protects only in case the claimant of the copyright possesses the rights he claims. The Copyright Office does not undertake to pass upon his rights, leaving the question to the courts in case of dispute. It simply records his claims, and by this recording gives him certain rights provided his claims can be substantiated. The statements here made, therefore, cannot be taken as definitive, but are based upon information given out by the Copyright Office, and upon the usage of the best publishing-houses.

When a publisher has accepted a manuscript, it becomes a part of his duty to secure the copyright. Usually, this is taken out in the name of the publisher rather than of the author, as the contract itself is really a license to sell from the author to the publisher. It is also the duty of the publisher to take all necessary steps to effect renewals of copyright as provided for by law.[22]

For those who find it necessary to take out their own copyrights, the following information is of value:

The copyright law provides that the application for registration of any work "shall specify to which of the following classes the work in which copyright is claimed belongs":

• (a) Books, including composite and cyclopaedic works, directories, gazetteers, and other compilations.
• (b) Periodicals, newspapers.
• (c) Lectures, sermons, addresses, prepared for oral delivery.
• (d) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions.
• (e) Musical compositions.
• (f) Maps.
• (g) Works of art; models or designs for works of art.
• (h) Reproductions of a work of art.
• (i) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character.
• (j) Photographs.
• (k) Prints and pictorial illustrations.

The Amendatory act, approved August 24, 1912, added the following two new classes of works as subject to copyright:

• (l) Motion-picture photoplays.
• (m) Motion pictures other than photoplays.

A work is not entitled to registration unless it is reasonably possible to classify it under one or the other of the above designations named in the statute.

¶Compilations, abridgments, adaptations, dramatizations, translations or other versions of works produced with the consent of the proprietor of such works, or works republished with new matter, are regarded as new works subject to copyright.

An alien author or proprietor can be protected by our law only in case he be domiciled within the United States at the time of the first publication of his work; or when the foreign state or nation of which he is a citizen or subject grants to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens; 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 the United States may become a party thereto.

¶Copyright protection is at present granted in the United States to works of authors who are citizens or subjects of the following countries: Belgium, France, Great Britain and her possessions, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Netherlands and her possessions, Cuba, China, Norway, Japan (and Korea), Austria, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Luxemburg, Sweden, Tunis and Hungary.

HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IN THE UNITED STATES

For works reproduced in copies for sale:

1. Publish the work with the copyright notice. The notice may be in the form "Copyright, 19... (year date of publication) by ... (name of copyright proprietor)."[23] The date in the copyright notice should agree with the year date of publication. 2. Promptly after publication, send to the Copyright Office two copies of the best edition of the work, with an application for registration and a money-order payable to the Register of Copyrights for the statutory registration fee of $1.00. (As to special fee for registration of photographs, see below.) The law provides "that of the printed book or periodical the text shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, either by hand or by the aid of any kind of typesetting machine, or from plates made within the limits of the United States from type set therein, or, if the text be produced by lithographic process, or photo-engraving process, then by a process wholly performed within the limits of the United States."

The law requires also that the postmaster to whom are delivered the articles to be deposited in the Copyright Office shall, if requested, give a receipt therefor, and shall mail them to their destination without cost to the copyright claimant.

In the case of books, the copies deposited must be accompanied by an affidavit, under the official seal of an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating that the type-setting, printing, and binding of the book have been performed within the United States. Affidavit and application forms are supplied by the Copyright Office on request. This affidavit is not required in the case of works in raised characters for the use of the blind, or in the case of a book of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English, or in the case of a printed play in any language; as such works are not required to be manufactured in the United States.

In the case of contributions to periodicals, send one complete copy of the periodical containing the contribution with application and fee. No affidavit is required.[24]

For works not reproduced in copies for sale:

Copyright may also be had of certain classes of works (see a—e below) of which copies are not reproduced for sale, by filing in the Copyright Office an application for registration with the statutory fee of $1.00, sending therewith:

(a) In the case of lectures or other oral addresses, or of dramatic or musical compositions, one complete manuscript or typewritten copy of the work.

(b) In the case of photographs not intended for general circulation, one photographic print. (As to special fee, see next page.)

(c) In the case of works of art (paintings, drawings, sculpture), or of drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character, one photograph or other identifying reproduction of the work. (d) In the case of motion-picture photoplays, a title and description, with one print taken from each scene or act.

(e) In the case of motion-pictures other than photoplays, a title and description, with not less than two prints taken from different sections of a complete motion-picture.

In the case of each of the works above noted, not reproduced in copies for sale, the law expressly requires that a second deposit of printed copies for registration and the payment of a second fee must be made upon publication.

Fees:

The statutory fee for registration of any work, except a photograph, is $1.00, including a certificate of registration under seal. In the case of a photograph, if a certificate is not demanded, the fee is fifty cents. In the case of several volumes of the same book deposited at the same time, only one registration and one fee is required.

HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION OF PERIODICALS

1. Publish the issue upon which copyright protection is desired, printing therein the required copyright notice, before making any application to the Copyright Office for registration. (As to the form and position of the notice, see page 34.) 2. Promptly after the publication of each issue, send two copies thereof to the Copyright Office, Washington, D.C., with an application for registration (upon Form "B 1") and a remittance for the statutory fee of $1.00, which sum includes the cost of a certificate under seal. Such certificate "shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein."

¶Publishers who desire to avoid the trouble of filling out a separate application form, and of making a separate remittance for each issue, may send in advance a sum to be placed to their credit, accompanied by a general application (upon Form "B 2"), requesting registrations to be made thereafter upon the prompt deposit in the Copyright Office of the copies of the successive issues, from time to time, as they are published. After this has been done, two copies of each issue should be mailed to the Copyright Office promptly after publication, with a slip (supplied in blank by the Copyright Office) giving the exact date of publication of the issue (i.e. "the earliest date when copies of the first authorized edition were placed on sale, or sold, or publicly distributed by the proprietor of the copyright or under his authority").

The statutory fee for the registration of any one issue of a periodical is one dollar, including a certificate under seal as already explained. Non-certificate, fifty-cent, entries are not permissible under the present law. Each issue of a copyright periodical requires the payment of its own registration fee of one dollar.

Contributions to periodicals:

Section 3 of the new law provides "that the copyright provided by this Act shall protect all the copyrightable component parts of the work copyrighted, and all matter therein in which copyright is already subsisting, but without extending the duration or scope of such copyright. The copyright upon composite works or periodicals shall give to the proprietor thereof all the rights in respect thereto which he would have if each part were individually copyrighted under this Act." For regulations regarding contributions to periodicals see page 36.

Titles:

The general title of a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical cannot be recorded under the copyright law. The requirement of the former law, that a printed title be deposited on or before the day of publication, has been abrogated, and the deposit of the title in advance of publication is no longer authorized. What the law now requires is that there be deposited two complete copies of each issue, promptly after publication.

Remittances:

All remittances to the Copyright Office should be made by money-order, payable to the Register of Copyrights. No money (currency or coin) should be placed in any letter or other matter sent to the Copyright Office. Postage stamps should not be sent as fees. Private checks will not be accepted unless certified.

HOW TO SECURE COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION OF MOTION-PICTURES

In order to secure registration of claims to copyright for such works the following steps should be taken:

Motion-picture photoplays:

I. Motion-picture photoplays not reproduced in copies for sale: Deposit in the Copyright Office, Washington, D.C., (1) the title of the motion-picture photoplay; (2) a description of the work, preferably either printed or typewritten; (3) a photograph taken from each scene of every act. These deposits should be accompanied by an application for recording the claim to copyright. For this purpose use Application Form "L 2," which is furnished by the Copyright Office upon request. Also send with the application the statutory registration fee of $1.00.

II. Motion-picture photoplays reproduced in copies for sale: When the motion-picture photoplay has been published (i.e., placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed) with the required notice of copyright upon each copy, promptly after such publication deposit in the Copyright Office two complete copies of the work, accompanied by an application for recording the claim to copyright in the published work. For this purpose use Application Form "L 1," which is furnished by the Copyright Office upon request. Also send with the application the statutory registration fee of $1.00.

Motion-pictures other than photoplays:

I. Motion-pictures other than photoplays not reproduced in copies for sale: Deposit in the Copyright Office, Washington, D.C., (1) the title of the motion-picture; (2) a description of the work, preferably either printed or typewritten; (3) two or more photographs taken from different sections of the complete motion-picture. These deposits should be accompanied by an application for recording the claim to copyright. For this purpose use Application Form "M 2," which is furnished by the Copyright Office upon request. Also send with the application the statutory fee of $1.00.

II. Motion-pictures other than photoplays reproduced in copies for sale: When the work has been published (i.e., placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed) with the required notice of copyright upon each copy, promptly after such publication deposit in the Copyright Office two complete copies of the work, accompanied by an application for recording the claim to copyright in the published work. For this purpose use Application Form "M 1," which is furnished by the Copyright Office upon request. Also send with the application the statutory fee of $1.00.

In all cases, the money order remitting the registration fee should be made payable to the "Register of Copyrights." Send the title, description, prints, copies, application and fee in one parcel, addressed to the Register of Copyrights, Washington, D.C.

If any motion-picture has been registered as a work "not reproduced in copies for sale," it must nevertheless be registered a second time if it has been afterward published.

AD INTERIM PROTECTION

In the case of a book published abroad in the English language before publication in the United States, the deposit in the Copyright Office at Washington, not later than thirty days after its publication abroad, of one complete copy of the foreign edition, with a request for the reservation of the copyright, and a statement of the name and nationality of the author and of the copyright proprietor, and of the date of the publication of the book, secures to the author or proprietor an ad interim copyright, which has all the force and effect given by copyright, and extends until the expiration of thirty days after such deposit in the Copyright Office. Whenever, within the period of this ad interim publication, an authorized edition of the book is published within the United States in accordance with the manufacturing provisions specified in the American copyright law, and when the provisions of the American law as to deposit of copies, registration, filing of affidavit, and the printing of the copyright notice have been duly complied with, the protection is then extended over the full term.

ASSIGNMENT OF COPYRIGHT

A copyright may be assigned, granted, or mortgaged by an instrument in writing signed by the proprietor of the copyright. No special blank form for assignment is issued by the Copyright Office.

Recording assignments:

Every assignment of copyright should be recorded in the Copyright Office within three calendar months after its execution in the United States, or within six calendar months after its execution without the limits of the United States, "in default of which it shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, whose assignment has been duly recorded."

The original instrument of assignment should be sent to the Copyright Office to be placed on record. A valuable document of this kind should be forwarded by registered post.

After having been recorded, a certificate of record under seal of the Copyright Office is attached, and it is then returned by post. If the sender desires to have it returned by registered post, ten cents postage for the post-office registry fee should be sent in addition to the recording fees as stated below.

Notice in assignee's name:

When an assignment of the copyright in a specified book or other work has been recorded, the assignee may substitute his name for that of the assignor in the copyright notice. In order that this transfer of proprietorship may properly appear upon the index of the Copyright Office, a fee of ten cents (prescribed by law) for each title of a book or other article transferred is required for indexing, and this fee should be remitted in addition to the fee prescribed for recording the instrument as explained below.

Foreign assignments:

Every assignment of copyright executed in a foreign country must be acknowledged by the assignor before a consular officer or secretary of legation of the United States, authorized by law to administer oaths or perform notarial acts. The certificate of such acknowledgment under the hand and official seal of such consular officer or secretary of legation is prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument.

The following schedule of fees, in addition to those already given, is fixed by the statute:

1. For recording and certifying any instrument in writing for the assignment of copyright, or any license to make use of copyright material, or for any copy of such assignment 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 additional one thousand words or fraction thereof over three hundred words.

2. For comparing any copy of an assignment with the record of such document in the Copyright Office and certifying the same under seal, one dollar.

3. For recording the transfer of the proprietorship of copyrighted articles, ten cents for each title of a book or other article, in addition to the fee prescribed for recording the instrument of assignment.

THE DURATION OF COPYRIGHT

The duration of the term of copyright is twenty-eight years. This term may be extended for a further term of twenty-eight years by the author of the work, if living, or by the widow, widower, or children, or, if they be not living, then by the author's executors, or in absence of a will, by his next of kin.

¶Application for this extension must be made to the Copyright Office and duly registered there within one year prior to the expiration of the original term.

THE PROTECTION OF TITLES

The cases which have thus far been settled in litigation indicate that there is nothing at present in the copyright law which gives to the author the exclusive right to the title of his particular work. There may be any number of books or stories brought out by different authors bearing the same title so long as each one is distinct and original.

APPLICATION FORMS

Applicants for copyright registration should use the application forms furnished on request by the Copyright Office. A separate form should be used for each work to be entered.

Books: For any new book printed and published for the first time in the United States, use Application Form and Affidavit Form "A 1" if the book is to be printed from type or plates made from type; if it is to be produced by lithographic or photo-engraving process use Application Form and Affidavit Form "A 2." For a book reprinted in the United States, with new copyright matter, use Application Form "A 2."

For a book of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English, use Application Form "A 3."

For ad interim copyright in a book published abroad in the English language, use Application Form "A 4."

For the American edition of a book in the English language on which ad interim copyright has been previously secured, use Application Form and Affidavit Form "A 1."

For a contribution to a newspaper or periodical, use Application Form "A 5."

Periodicals: For a periodical, if it is desired to make a separate application and remittance as each issue appears, use Application Form "B 1." If it is desired to file a general application in advance, and to deposit therewith a sum to cover the fees for several issues, use Application Form "B 2."

Oral Works: For a Lecture, Sermon, or Address for oral delivery, use Application Form "C."

Dramas: For a published Dramatic Composition, use Application Form "D 1."

For a Dramatic Composition of which copies are not reproduced for sale, use Application Form "D 2."

For a published Dramatico-Musical Composition, use Application Form "D 3." Music: For a Musical Composition published for the first time, use Application Form "E."

For a Musical Composition, republished with new copyright matter, use Application Form "E 1."

For a Musical Composition of which copies are not reproduced for sale, use Application Form "E 2."

Maps: For a published map, use Application Form "F."

Works of Art: For a Work of Art (Painting, Drawing, or Sculpture); or for Model or Design for a Work of Art, use Application Form "G."

Drawing or Plastic Work: For a published Drawing or Plastic Work of a scientific or technical character, use Application Form "I 1."

For an unpublished Drawing or Plastic Work of a scientific or technical character, use Application Form "I 2."

Photographs: For a Photograph published for sale, use Application Form "J 1."

For a Photograph of which copies are not reproduced for sale, use Application Form "J 2."

Prints or Pictorial Illustrations: For the registration of any "Print" or "Pictorial Illustration," which is a printed picture, complete in itself and having artistic quality, use Application Form "K."

Motion-Pictures: For the registration of a Motion-Picture Photoplay reproduced in copies for sale, use Application Form "L 1." For a Motion-Picture Photoplay of which copies are not reproduced for sale, use Application Form "L 2."

For a Motion-Picture, not a Photoplay, reproduced in copies for sale, use Application Form "M 1."

For a Motion-Picture, not a Photoplay, not reproduced in copies for sale, use Application Form "M 2."

Renewal or extension:

For the renewal of copyright subsisting in any work for the new renewal term of twenty-eight years as provided by the present law, use Renewal Form "R 1."

For the extension of an existing renewal term from fourteen years as provided under the old law, to twenty-eight years granted by the present law, use Extension Form "R 2."

¶These renewal forms can only be used within a period of one year prior to the expiration of the existing term.

Assignments:

No forms are issued by the Copyright Office for assignments, or licenses, nor for Postmaster's receipts for articles deposited.

PRACTICAL PROCEDURE

The methods of each publisher in the various steps toward registration of copyright may vary in details, but the following method may be taken as typical and sufficient for the average American book copyrighted in the United States:

1. The type must be set up in the United States, and, if the book is printed from plates, the plates be made therefrom;

2. The book must be printed and bound in the United States;

3. The book must bear the copyright notice.

4. On the date set for publication, copies are for the first time offered to the public, sold or publicly distributed by the publisher or his authorized agents. This constitutes the "act of publication," on which the registration of copyright depends. The sale of these copies is recorded on the publisher's books in the same manner as the sale of any of his books, and this dating of the sale on his books is often deemed sufficient record of the first publication. In case books are to be distributed for sale by various booksellers as well as by the publisher himself, the booksellers must be notified in advance in order that no copies may be sold previous to the date set for first publication.

5. Either on the same day as the book is first published or promptly thereafter (but not before), blank Application and Affidavit Form "A 1" is filled out and sworn to.[25] Two copies of the book for deposit with the Copyright Office, together with this completed Application Form and a post-office money-order for the required fee of $1.00 made payable to the Register of Copyrights, are made up into one package, and the package addressed to: The Register of Copyrights, Washington, D.C. On the outside of the package is marked: "Books for Copyright Registration." The package is then delivered to the post-office, and the postmaster, if requested, will sign a receipt for the package which the publisher makes out. This receipt should contain the name of the book, the date, and the fact that the copies are to be transmitted to the Register of Copyrights in Washington for purpose of registration of copyright. The postmaster is required by law to forward these copies to the Copyright Office without expense to the sender.

6. After a few days a receipt under seal will come from the Copyright Office, certifying that the books have been received, with the remittance and application, and that the copyright has been duly recorded.

This is all that needs to be done for twenty-seven years, in case the copyright has not in the meantime been assigned. In case of assignment this fact should be recorded in the Copyright Office in accord with the methods specified.[26] After twenty-seven years have passed, and within one year of the expiration of the copyright, the owner may renew it for twenty-eight years more upon application to the Copyright Office.

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT

In America, with the general lack of definite knowledge concerning all matters relating to copyright, the so-called "International Copyright" is equally shrouded in uncertainty. As the United States is not yet a member of the International Copyright Union as established in the convention of Berne, and cannot join this Union so long as the present clause in the American copyright law exists requiring all books to be completely manufactured within the United States in order to secure copyright, it will be evident that registration at Washington does not secure protection abroad. Mutual copyright protection has been arranged, however, by special treaties with foreign nations. The countries with which these treaty relations exist at present include: Belgium, France, Great Britain and her possessions, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Netherlands and her possessions, Cuba, China, Norway, Japan (and Korea), Austria, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Luxemburg, Sweden, Tunis and Hungary. Inasmuch as we are not yet members of the International Copyright Union it is, strictly speaking, impossible for a citizen of the United States to secure "International Copyright" on his book, though a book can be protected in most of the countries where protection is desirable.[27] Many publishers secure copyright in Great Britain and her dependencies by publishing in England simultaneously with the American publication, and by conforming to the other requirements of the British law. A few publishers are of the opinion that protection in Great Britain and her colonies can be secured by publishing simultaneously in Canada instead of in England. Whether or not this is equally binding cannot be definitely determined, as no test case has as yet been made to establish or dispute the fact.

Recent copyright legislation in England has been pointed in the direction of more strict regulations regarding bona fide publication in England of American books on which English copyright is desired. This is a step in the right direction, and defines the issue somewhat more clearly, but even now conditions are not as well defined as they should be, or as they must ultimately be. The following statements may be made:

(a) Simultaneous publication is necessary in England and the United States. The English agents, therefore, should be supplied with not less than seven copies of the book at least one week before the date fixed for American publication.

¶Great care should be taken that the date selected for publication is not Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England. These public holidays are: Easter Monday, Monday in Whitsun-week, first Monday in August, December 26 (or, if Sunday, December 27), Good Friday and Christmas Day.

In Canada the public holidays are: New Year's, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Empire Day (May 24), Dominion Day (July 1), first Mondays in August and September (Labor Day), Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

The publication is accepted in England as being simultaneous if the time between publication in England and in America does not exceed fourteen days. It is important to note that when the case is reversed the "simultaneous" publication of an American book in England must be made on the exact day of its publication in America.

(b) The so-called English agent must be an English publisher. On the day appointed for publication, the English agent must make formal sale of at least one copy of the volume, and the entry of such sale must appear upon his books. Six copies are delivered by the agent to the following libraries:

• British Museum
• Bodleian Library, Oxford
• University Library, Cambridge
• Library of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh
• Library of Trinity College, Dublin
• National Library of Wales

¶It is not obligatory that five of these six copies be delivered unless demand is formally made within twelve months after publication, but if the books are not in stock for delivery then the agent may be fined £5 plus the cost of the volume. The copy for the British Museum must be delivered within one month after publication.

If an edition de luxe is issued, the copy sent to the British Museum must be of this edition.

Points which are still to be settled in the new English copyright law are, whether or not, in order to make a bona fide publication, copies should be sent out for review, and advertised or offered for sale by the traveling salesmen of the English publisher. It is probable that these points will be definitely determined within the next few months. The English act requires a genuine publication to satisfy public demand, and not merely a "colourable" formality. What "public demand" may be has not yet been defined.

There is no necessity for printing any notice of English copyright, as the English law does not require it; but it is customary, on American books copyrighted in England, to use the words, "Copyright in England," to give warning that copyright is claimed on the book. It is not considered necessary to have the English publisher's imprint on the title-page of such books. The expression sometimes seen on the copyright page, "All rights reserved including that of translation into foreign languages including the Scandinavian," is now valueless. The American and English copyrights protect the book in all countries with which the United States has copyright relations, and the notice would not prevent appropriation in any country with which the United States has no copyright relations. The expression came into use during the years preceding our present reciprocal copyright arrangements, and is now discontinued by those familiar with its original significance.

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