H. R. Report [64th Cong., 1st sess. House of Representatives. Report No. 640.] COPYRIGHT LAW No. 640 MAY 5, 1916.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. Mr. OGLESBY, from the Committee on Patents, submitted the following report (to accompany H. R. 13981). The Committee on Patents, to whom was referred House bill 13981, respectfully report that they had the saine under consideration, and recommend that the bill be amended and that the bill as amended do pass. Amendment No. 1: In line 4 of page 2 of the printed bill change "numbered" to "number." Amendment No. 2: In line 6 of page 2 insert the word "hundred'' in the date, so that this last shall read "August twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and twelve." Amendment No. 3: In line 8 on page 2, in the phrase reading "such deposit and registration shall hereafter be held to be sufficient for all purposes," strike out the words "for all purposes, so that the phrase shall read, "such deposit and registration shall hereafter be held to be sufficient." It is the intention in the bill to make such deposit and registration as it provides for a sufficient compliance with the requirements of the law as to deposit and registration, but not to go beyond that to validate an otherwise possibly defective claim. The bill proposes to amend section 12 of the copyright act of March 4, 1909, by adding thereto the following: Provided, however, That in the case of any work referred to in this section wherein copyright has been secured by publication of the work with notice of copyright, which by reason of its character, bulk, fragility, or because of dangerous ingredients can not be expediently filed, the register of copyrights may determine that there shall be deposited, in lieu of two complete copies of such work, such identifying photographs or prints, together with such written or printed descriptions of the work as he shall find sufficient to identify it: And provided further, That in the case of motion-picture photoplays and motion pictures other than photoplays, whenever deposit has been made as required by the provisions of the act of Congress (Public, Number Three hundred and three) approved August twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and twelve, and registration has been secured thereunder, such deposit and registration shall hereafter be held to be sufficient, and shall exempt the copyright proprietor from the deposit of two complete copies of such photoplay or motion picture if it is later reproduced in copies for sale, and the provisions of the amendatory act of August twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and twelve, are hereby made to apply to motion-picture photoplays and motion pictures other than photoplays that have been reproduced in copies for sale or otherwise published. Among the classes of works enumerated in section 5 of the copyright act which may have secured copyright by publication of the work with the prescribed notice of copyright, as provided in section 9 of the act, there are a few works which are of such character that they are not de sired by the Library of Congress, or of which because of their bulk, or because they are fragile or contain dangerous (inflammatory) ingredients, it is not expedient that actual copies should be filed. It is proposed that in lieu of two copies of such works the register of copyrights shall determine that there shall be deposited such identifying photographs or prints, together with such written or printed descriptions of the work, as he shall find sufficient in each case to identify it. Examples of the classes of works which will be affected by the proposed act are commercial, theatrical, circus, or other large pictorial posters; casts of busts, statuettes, or other similar articles; relief maps; motion pictures, etc. In the case of motion pictures the act provides that deposit and registration under the provisions of the act of Congress (Public, No. 303) shall be sufficient whether such motion pictures may have been reproduced in copies for sale or otherwise published, and that the copyright proprietor of the motion picture shall be exempt from the deposit of two complete copies (i. e., two complete reels) of such motion picture if it has been reproduced in copies for sale. Motion pictures were declared subject matter of copyright by the act of August 24, 1912. Registration of copyright motion pictures was provided for in section 11 of the copyright act as amended, upon the deposit of title and description, and of the specified prints taken from the different sections or from each scene or act, respectively, depending upon whether the motion picture is a photo play or otherwise. The registration under section 11, however, was for works not reproduced for sale, and the concluding sentence of that section further provided that "the privilege of registration of copyright secured hereunder shall not exempt the copyright proprietor from the deposit of copies, under sections 12 and 13 of this act, where the work is later reproduced in copies for sale." Section 12 requires that after copyright has been secured by publication of the work (i. e., sale or public distribution) two complete copies of the best edition of the work must be promptly deposited after such publication. In view of the proviso in section II and the requirement of the deposit of two complete copies in section 12, motion-picture proprietors have felt obliged to make deposit of two complete reels in the case of all motion pictures which have been reproduced in copies for sale (i. e., published). This has imposed a burdensome obligation upon such proprietors which was not intended. The complete reels are expensive, sometimes very expensive, and they are practically of no greater value for the identification of the motion picture in which copyright is claimed than the selected prints together with the title and description required by section 11 to be deposited in the case of a motion picture. The deposit of the complete reels is of no service to the Copyright Office, and these articles are of no value to the Library of Congress, and by reason of their inflammable character are dangerous. Such deposit also imposes an added burden upon the Copyright Office to no purpose. Motion-picture manufacturers have expressed approval of the purpose and the language of the bill. It is the opinion of the committee that it should become law. [64th Cong., 1st sess. H. R. 14226. In the House of Representatives. April 5, 1916.] Mr. STEPHENS, of California (by request), introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Patents and ordered to be printed. A BILL to amend section one, subdivision (b), of the act entitled "An act to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright," approved March fourth, nineteen hundred and nine. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph (b), section one, of the act entitled "An act to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright," approved March fourth, nineteen hundred and nine, be amended to read as follows: "(b) To translate the copyrighted work into other languages or dialects, or make any abridgment, amplification, augmentation, adaptation, or arrangement, or any other version thereof, if it be a literary work; to dramatize it if it be a nondramatic work; to convert it into a novel or other nondramatic work if it be a drama; to arrange or adapt it if it be a musical work; to complete, execute, and finish it if it be a model or design for a work of art." Bill H R. 14226 APPENDIX III MANUSCRIPTS AND BROADSIDES I. GIFTS, 1915-16 From the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.: Abraham Weatherwise's Town and Country Almanac for 1782 with ms. diary of Jacob Cushing on interleaved pages. From Frank J. Barteman, Washington, D. C.: I V. 8°. Scrap book of Albert Fierbaum while serving with the Eighteenth From Montgomery Blair, Washington, D. C.: Decorated Civil War envelopes, unused. (11 pieces.) From Franchot H. Boyd, Washington, D. C.: Campaign badge of the Young Men's Whig national convention at Baltimore, 1844. On white satin. From Harry E. Browne, Greenwich, Conn.: Promissory note of Eleazer Williams, 1822, Aug. From Charles M. Bruce, administrator of estate of Mrs. Charles Bruce, Executive pardon to Charles Bruce for participating in the From the Comité du Secours national, Paris: “Collection de 4 affiches vendues 20 francs au profit de L'Oeuvre.” From John D. Crimmins, New York City: Letter from Speaker James L. Orr to Joseph Hamlin, 1858, Jan., and typewritten copy of letter from Robert R. Livingston to Governor William Greene, 1783, Jan. From Mrs. J. C. Bancroft Davis, Washington, D. C.: J. C. Bancroft Davis's journal of the Treaty of Washington negotiations, 1871, Jan.-May. 3 v.; Record of the Geneva Arbitration, being 4 volumes of the diary of Judge Davis, copies of correspondence, newspaper clippings, etc., 1871-72; Letterpress copy books of the Geneva Arbitration, 3 v.; Geneva Arbitration, Letters received, 1871–72, 4 V. (14 volumes in all) From Miss Harriet F. Donaldson, West River, P. O. Anne Arundel county, Maryland: Admiral David D. Farragut's general order, 1862, Apr., thanking the officers and men of the fleet for their conduct in running the Mississippi forts below New Orleans. D. S. From Mrs. Helen Fox Engle, Washington, D. C.: I p. Playbill of the performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's From Dr. Allan McLane Hamilton, Great Barrington, Mass.: Miscellaneous personal papers of Alexander Hamilton. (About 50 pieces.) |