the copyright either expires altogether or continues for a shortened term. The evident theory behind these provisions is that the purpose of copyright-to benefit the author and his family-ceases to exist when those persons are dead. In three Iron Curtain countries-Albania, Bulgaria, and Rumania-the recently-enacted copyright statutes go even further in the same direction. These laws, the details of which differ, make the duration of copyright protection dependent upon the lifetime or age of certain specified heirs; for example, the Albanian provision reads as follows:

"Upon the death of the author, the copyright shall devolve upon his wife until her death or remarriage, and upon their children until they attain 25 years of age or, if they are unable to earn their subsistence, for such time as this inability continues.

"When a copyright has not devolved upon the wife and children, pursuant to the above provisions, it shall devolve upon the parents for as long as they live or upon the grandchildren (nipërit) until they attain 25 years of age, provided they were supported by the author, or by the grandfather or grandmother until the death of such authors or grandparents."

Surprisingly enough, the Haitian copyright law of 1885 contains a similar provision.

d. Adjustment of term to encourage availability

The copyright laws of a number of countries contain provisions aimed, at least partly, at balancing the author-publisher's desire for a long term against the public's desire to have the work generally available at the earliest possible time. The American renewal system seeks to accomplish this by requiring a second registration; those relatively few works of continuing commercial value are provided a full term, but the bulk of copyrighted works are allowed to become freely available to the public twice as soon. While the foreign laws approach the problem from several different angles, their basic purpose is much the same.

B27

(1) Right of translation

B23

B21

B28

In countries where much copyrighted material is published and performed in translation, limitations upon the term of protection for the exclusive right of translation are common. In Greece the right of translation falls into the public domain after ten years, and the same is true in Nicaragua B22 for works by non-resident authors. In Iceland, Japan," B24 Korea, B25 Luxemburg, and Turkey, the translation right terminates within ten years unless an authorized translation is published domestically within that time; in Egypt B the period is five years, and in Thailand B the ten-year restriction applies only to foreign works. In Yugoslavia, failure to publish a translation within ten years results in loss of the right to control translation, but the copyright owner remains entitled to indemnification. The recent Mexican statute, following a pattern established in the Universal Copyright Convention, B permits the granting of a compulsory license to publish Spanish translations under certain conditions, if the copyright owner has failed to do so for seven years.

(2) Compulsory licenses after fixed periods

The British Copyright Act of 1911 B contained two compulsory licensing provisions which were intended to insure that, after the author's death, his works would not be published at too high a price or withheld from the public altogether: (a) Following a period of 25 years after the author's death, his works could be reproduced for sale without permission, if a notice of intention to reproduce were given in writing, and if royalties of 10% of the sale price were paid under conditions prescribed by the Board of Trade.

Bn Act of June 29, 1920, as amended up to Oct. 7. 1943, art. 6.

B22 Civil Code, promulgated by Decree of Feb. 1, 1904. arts. 751, 753.

B23 Law of Oct. 20, 1905, as amended up to May 23, 1947, § 4.

B24 Law of Mar. 4, 1899, as amended up to May 15, 1958, art. 7.

B25 Law approved by Proclamation of Jan. 28, 1957, art. 34.

B20 Law of May 10, 1898, art. 12.

B27 Law of Dec. 10, 1951, art. 28.

B2 United Arab Republic (Egypt): Law of June 24, 1954, art. 8.

B29 Act of June 16, 1931, § 29.

B30 Law enacted by Decree of July 10, 1957, art. 52.

B31 Law of Dec. 29, 1956, arts. 30-31.

B For a discussion of the translation provisions of the U.C.C., see Finkelstein, Right of Translation: Article V of the Universal Copyright Convention, in UNIVERSAL COPYRIGHT CONVENTION ANALYZED 51 (Kupferman and Foner, eds. 1955).

B33 1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46, §§ 3, 4.

(b) At any time after the death of the author of a literary, dramatic, or musical work that had been published or publicly performed, complaint could be made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council that the copyright owner had refused to republish or allow republication or performance of the work, and the owner could be ordered to grant a license under terms prescribed by the Judicial Committee.

B35

B39

B30

The 1911 Act has been superseded in the United Kingdom, but is still in force in Australia," Canada,' Ceylon,B B37 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Israel, New Zealand," Pakistan, B40 the Union of Burma, and the Union of South Africa.B Roughly similar compulsory licensing provisions are also in effect in Greece B4 and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.B

B41

B43

B45

(3) Loss of copyright for failure to make available Under certain conditions the laws of Spain and three Latin American countries provide for the complete loss of copyright protection for failure to publish or perform a work within a specified period. In Spain B and Cuba,' a literary work that is out of print and has not been republished within a twenty-year period falls into the public domain after denunciation and a one-year opportunity for the owner to reprint. In Costa Rica B48 a scientific, literary, or artistic work falls into the public domain if not reprinted within 25 years, and copyright in a dramatic or musical work is lost if the work is not published within thirty years. In Uruguay a work falls into the public domain if not published, performed, or exhibited within ten years after the death of the author, and a Greek legislative decree contains similar provisions.

B48

B47

e. Limited terms for specific categories of works

Aside from the nearly-universal provisions dealing with anonymous, pseudonymous, joint, and posthumous works (which are the necessary result of a term based on the life of the author), many copyright laws contain provisions limiting the term for specified kinds or categories of works. The following table represents a rough count of the number of national laws containing specific limitations:

Category

Photographs__

Government publications--.

Works of legal entities, corporate bodies, associations, etc_

Cinematographic works__.

Sound recordings--.

Composite, collective, periodical works, etc-

Designs and graphic works_.

Letters, memoirs, and old manuscripts-

Theatrical sketches, dances, and pantomimes.

Translations__

Works of international organizations_.

Reprint editions___.

Television and radio broadcasts-

Number of statutes

40

25

24

21

20

13

8

632221

B34 The 1911 Act was repealed by 4 & 5 Eliz. 2, c. 4; see notes B151-73 infra, and text thereto.

Ba Act of Nov. 20, 1912, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

BS CAN. REV. STAT. c. 55, §§ 7, 13 (1952).

B37 Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 (11 Geo. 6, c. 7) § 4, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

Bas Order of Mar. 21, 1924 (maintained in force in Israel and modified up to 1953), incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

Bag Act of Nov. 22, 1913, as amended up to Oct. 6, 1924, §§ 6-7.

B40 Act of Feb. 24, 1914, as amended up to 1951, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B41 Act of Apr. 7, 1916, as amended up to Apr. 28, 1951, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B42 Legislative Decree of Nov. 23, 1942, arts. 2-3.

B43 Ottoman Law of May 8, 1912, art. 19.

B44 Law of Jan. 10, 1879, art. 44.

B45 The Spanish copyright law is in force in Cuba.

B48 Decree-Law of June 27, 1896, as amended up to May 25, 1948, arts. 64-65.

B47 Law of Dec. 15 and 17, 1937, as amended up to Feb. 25, 1938, art. 14.

B48 Legislative Decree of Nov. 23, 1942, art. 1.

Many, if not most, of these limitations are based on a belief that the particular kind of work should be freely available to the public within a shorter period than that provided for other works. It is worth noting that the U.S. copyright law contains no special terms; reliance is placed entirely on the renewal device to throw ephemeral works into the public domain within a reasonable time.

B49

3. Reversion or reservation of author's rights

In addition to provisions aimed at adjusting the copyright term in relation to the value and availability of a work, there are among the copyright laws of the world a great many provisions aimed specifically at protecting the author and his family in his business dealings and contract relations. These provisions take a variety of forms, but in general their purpose is the same as that behind the American reversionary renewal: to protect the author and his dependents against transfers which are disadvantageous to him when made, or which become disadvantageous with the passage of time.

a. Outright reversion to heirs at a specific time

The British Copyright Act of 1911 B50 contained a provision making all transfers invalid beyond the end of 25 years from the author's death, with an inalienable reversion to the author's "legal personal representatives as part of his estate." This provision was dropped in the United Kingdom when the new copyright law became effective in 1956,' but it is still in force in ten countries: Australia,B Canada, Ceylon,B Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, IreIsrael,' New Zealand,B Union of Burma, and Union of

B55

B52

land,
South Africa.

B59

B36

B53

B54

B51

B57

Pakistan, BS

843

In Spain,' BGO Cuba, BG1 and Colombia, if the author leaves "compulsory heirs" (i.e., heirs who inherit as of right and who cannot be disinherited without legitimate cause), all rights of transferees end 25 years after the author's death, and the copyright passes to the "compulsory heirs" for the remaining 55 years. The Panamanian law B is much the same, although the "compulsory heirs" are specified as the author's parents and children. In France, Be where certain rights are inalienable or may revert upon specified conditions, the copyright law provides for a compulsory bequest to the surviving spouse; if the author also leaves "forced heirs" (héritiers à réserve), the spouse must share the copyright with them.

Вет

The copyright laws of both El Salvador and Haiti apparently provide a reversion at the author's death. In El Salvador the copyright goes to the author's heirs for 25 years if they exercise their rights within one year. In Haiti the copyright goes first to the widow for life and then to the children for twenty years; or, in the absence of children, to the “other heirs or proprietors" for ten years. Under the unusual law of Costa Rica a transferred copyright belongs to the assignee for his lifetime and to the assignee's successors for twenty years, whereupon it reverts to the author or his heirs and legatees for another thirty years.

B68

B49 The five-year ad interim copyright might be considered a special exception to this rule, although it is addressed to a different purpose.

B50 1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46, § 5(b).

B51 The 1911 Act was repealed by 4 & 5 Eliz. 2, c. 4; see notes B151-73 infra, and text thereto.

B52 Act of Nov. 20, 1912, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B58 CAN. REV. STAT. c. 55, § 12 (5) (1952).

B54 Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 (11 Geo. 6, c. 7) § 4, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B55 Act of May 20, 1927, as amended up to July 23, 1958, § 158(b) (2).

B56 Order of Mar. 21, 1924 (maintained in force in Israel and modified up to 1953), incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B57 Act of Nov. 22, 1913, as amended up to Oct. 6, 1924, § 8 (2).

B58 Act of Feb. 24, 1914, as amended up to 1951, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B59 Act of Apr. 7, 1916, as amended up to Apr. 28, 1951, incorporating the United Kingdom Copyright Act of 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46).

B00 Law of Jan. 10, 1879, art. 6.

B01 The Spanish copyright law is in force in Cuba.

B62 Law of Dec. 26, 1946, art. 91.

B63 Article 41 of the Spanish Copyright Regulations (enacted by Royal Decree of Sept. 3, 1880, as amended up to 1919) requires compulsory heirs to prove and register their claims.

B64 Administrative Code, approved by Law of Aug. 22, 1916, § 1903.

B65 Law of Mar. 11, 1957, art. 24.

Bee Law of June 2 and 8, 1900, art. 2.

B07 Law of Oct. 8, 1885, art. 6.

B68 Decree-Law of June 27, 1896, as amended up to May 25, 1948, art. 4.

In three East European countries-Albania,B69 Bulgaria,' B70 and Rumania B71_ the copyright as such is inalienable, and upon the author's death it passes to certain "lawful" heirs. The duration of the rights enjoyed by these heirs is made to depend upon their relationship to the author and the degree of their dependency upon him.

B74

b. Limitations on alienability and regulation of contract relations for author's benefit

(1) General restrictions on alienability

There are at present three countries-Austria, Bulgaria, and Rumania B-in which it is impossible for an author to assign away his entire copyright during his lifetime. Copright in those countries is inalienable, and although the author may grant an exclusive right to use his work in a particular way, he always retains any rights he has not specifically transferred. This theory of the inalienability of copyright has also been adopted in the recent German draft statutes,' and may mark a new trend in the basic philosophy of the copyright law.

B79

B75

B78

B77

B81

In addition to inalienability, the Bulgarian statute B78 limits the duration of all transfers to five years, and in Rumania a particular right may be assigned "only for a limited time." Albania permits assignments of all or part of a copyright, but only for a period of ten years or less. Several countries limit the duration of contracts for particular uses; for example, contracts for performance in France and for cinematographic adaptation in Czechoslovakia B60 are limited to five years, and publishing contracts are limited to twenty years in Italy and four years in Hungary.B62 In Russia B3 publishing contracts can last no longer than four years, and a maximum duration of three years is provided for performing contracts. Provisions allowing rights in contributions to periodicals to revert to the author after a short period also appear in several statutes.' Another general method of protecting the author against unwittingly assigning away more than he bargained for is to require that the contract specify the exact nature of the right transferred. Provisions of this type are quite common, and a good example is found in the recent French law: BS8

Be Decree of Sept. 24, 1947, as amended up to 1951, § 9.

B70 Law of Nov. 16, 1951, as amended up to July 4, 1956, art. 18.

BT1 Decree of June 18, 1956, as amended up to July 24, 1957, arts. 3(6), 6.

B72 Act of Apr. 9, 1936, as amended up to July 8, 1953, §§ 23-24.

B73 Law of Nov. 16, 1951, as amended up to July 4, 1956, § 20.

B74 Decree of June 18, 1956, as amended up to July 24, 1957, art. 3.

B84

B85

B15 See Strauss, Summary of the German Draft Law on Copyright and the Report of the Drafting Commission 3-4, 12-13 (Copyright Society of U.S.A., Translation Service 1955, No. 2a); 26 REVUE INTERNATIONALE DU DROIT D'AUTEUR 121 (1960). The report accompanying the 1954 draft explained that moral rights are inalienable under the present law, and that the "rights of use" in a work are so closely connected with the author's moral rights that "a separate treatment of these rights does not seem possible." Thus, an author would be prohibited from alienating his copyright in whole or in part, and the most he could do would be to grant an exclusive license covering a particular right to use; "[a]ssignment of the right would forever deprive the author of such assigned part of the copyright, which would be in contradiction to the nature of copyright." Strauss, op. cit. supra at 3. The 1959 draft also adopts this principle, and goes even further; an author would be permitted to participate in the revenue received by a licensee whenever it is obviously out of proportion to the fee paid to the author, in consideration of all the circumstances.

B76 Note B73, supra.

B77 Note B74, supra.

B78 Decree of Sept. 24, 1947, as amended up to 1951, § 7.

B79 Law of Mar. 11, 1957, art. 44.

B80 Law of Dec. 22, 1953, § 47 (1).

ESI Act of Apr. 22, 1941, as amended up to Aug. 23, 1946, art. 122.

BS2 Decree of Apr. 21, 1951, § 3.

B83 U.S.S.R.: Joint Resolution of May 16, 1928, § 17; R.S.F.S.R.: Joint Resolution of Oct. 8, 1928, §§ 18-19, 32-33; Ukrainian S.S.Ŕ. : Joint Resolution of Feb. 6, 1929, §§ 17, 21.

BS See, e.g., Austria: Act of Apr. 9, 1936, as amended up to July 8, 1953, § 36; Brazil Civil Code promulgated by Law of Jan. 1. 1916, as amended up to Jan. 15, 1919, art. 659; German Federal Republic: Act of June 19, 1901, as amended up to Dec. 13, 1934, § 42; Japan Law of Mar. 4, 1899, as amended up to May 15, 1958, art. 28(3); Korea: Law of Jan. 28, 1957, art. 54; Switzerland: Code of Obligations promulgated by Federal Law of Mar. 30, 1911, art. 382; Venezuela: Law of June 28-July 13, 1928, art. 81.

B85 See, e.g., Albania: Decree of Sept. 24, 1947, as amended up to 1951, § 7; Bulgaria: Law of Nov. 16, 1951, as amended up to July 4, 1956; Czechoslovakia; Law of Dec. 22, 1953, § 28(1); Sweden: Law of May 30, 1919, as amended up to Apr. 24, 1931, § 17a; Turkey: Law of Dec. 10, 1951, art. 52; R.S.F.S.R.: Joint Resolution of Oct. 8, 1928, §§ 18. 32; United Arab Republic (Egypt): Law of June 24, 1954, art. 37.

B98 Law of Mar. 11,1957, art. 31.

"The transfer of authors' rights shall be subject to the condition that each of the rights transferred shall be specifically mentioned in the act of transfer, and that the field of exploitation of the rights transferred shall be delimited as to extent and purpose, as to place, and as to duration."

In a sense, a system of this kind approaches inalienability of copyright. The author would probably retain some kind of interest in even the most comprehensive transfer, if nothing more than rights in uses resulting from future technological developments.

(2) Reversion for failure to exploit the work

The laws of some thirty countries contain provisions which, under various circumstances, permit an author to reclaim his exclusive rights if his transferee fails or ceases to exploit the work. The theory behind these provisions is that authors mainly benefit from continued exploitation; if the transferee suppresses or abandons a work, the exclusive rights should revert to the author so that he can make a new bargain. This system of reversion for failure to exploit does not, of course, go as far as the American renewal system, which provides an automatic reversion whether the transferee is still exploiting the work or not. Up to a point, however, the purposes and results of the two systems are much the same. (a) Reversion for failure to begin exploitation within specified time limits

BS7

The most common reversion provision of this type permits rescission of the author's contract after a certain period, if the transferee has failed to start publishing, performing, or otherwise using the work during that time. In several countries the relevant period must be set out in the agreement, and most of these laws also provide that the contractual period cannot be longer than a certain maximum.B88 Other statutes establish a statutory minimum period within which the work must be exploited, either in all cases BS9 or in those cases in which the contract itself does not stipulate a time limit.B In still other countries these provisions are combined in various ways; B91 for example, the Danish statute * provides:

"In the absence of an agreement to the contrary in the publishing contract. the publisher shall be required to publish the work within one year of receiving the complete manuscript.

"If the work has not been published within 4 years of delivery of the complete manuscript, the author ** shall be entitled to demand that publication take place within one year of the presentation of such demand regardless of stipulations on this matter in the publishing contract.

"If publication has not taken place before the expiration of the said period, the right of the publisher to publish the work shall terminate; this, however, shall not involve the forfeiture of royalties already paid or due."

The various statutes differ as to what the author must do to reclaim his rights In some countries the reversion is apparently automatic, BS in others the author

B87 Czechoslovakia: Law of Dec. 22, 1953, §§ 28(1), 37; France: Law of Mar. 11, 1957, art. 63; statutes cited in note B88, infra; see Yugoslavia: Law enacted by Decree of July 10, 1957, art. 17.

BSS Czechoslovakia: Law of Dec. 22, 1953, §§ 28(1), 43(1): France: Law of Mar. 11, 1957, art. 44; Poland: Law of July 10, 1952, arts. 35, 36, 38, 46; U.S.S.R.: Joint Resolution of May 16, 1928, § 17; R.S.F.Š.R.: Joint Resolution of Oct. 8, 1928, §§ 18, 22-23, 32, 34, 40; Ukrainian S.S.R.; Joint Resolution of Feb. 6, 1929, §§ 17, 19, 22-23; Byelorussian Republic Resolution of Jan. 14, 1929, § 6; see Uruguay: Law of Dec. 15 and 17, 1937, as amended up to Feb. 25, 1938, art. 32.

B89 Argentina: Law of Sept. 28, 1933, as amended up to Oct. 2, 1957, art. 46; Colombia: Law of Dec. 26, 1946, art. 55; Czechoslavakia: Law of Dec. 22, 1953, §§ 48, 51, 54; Dominican Republic: Law of Mar. 17, 1947, art. 8; Iceland: Law of Oct. 20, 1905, as amended up to June 5, 1947, § 10; Norway: Law of June 6, 1930, art. 28; Paraguay: Law of July 5-10, 1951, art. 35; Sweden: Law of May 30, 1919, as amended up to Apr. 24, 1931, § 17. B90 Bulgaria Code of Contracts and Obligations promulgated by Edict of Nov. 14, 1950, §§ 274, 277; Greece: Act of June 29, 1920, as amended up to Dec. 7, 1944, art. 12; Hungary: Decree of Apr. 21, 1951, § 9; Japan: Law of Mar. 4, 1899, as amended up to May 15, 1958, art. 28(5); Korea: Law approved by Proclamation of Jan. 28, 1957, arts. 51, 61; Mexico: Law of Dec. 29, 1956, arts. 46-47, 64; Portugal: Decree of May 27, 1927, arts. 45, 76; see Brazil: Civil Code promulgated by Law of Jan. 1, 1916, as amended up to Jan. 15, 1919, art. 1360; Peru: Ĉivil Code adopted by Law of May 29-June 2, 1936, art. 1680.

B91 Italy: Act of Apr. 22, 1941, as amended up to Aug. 23, 1946, arts. 127-28, 139; Nicaragua: Civil Code promulgated by Decree of Feb. 1, 1904, arts. 774-77.

B92 Law of Apr. 26, 1933, § 9.

B93 See, e.g., Dominican Republic: Law of Mar. 17, 1947, art. 8; France: Law of Mar. 11. 1957, art. 44; Greece: Act of June 29, 1920, as amended up to Dec. 7, 1944, art. 12: Hungary: Decree of Apr. 21, 1951, § 9.