ployed by the State of New York under a law that the copyright of the Reports should vest in the State, Judge Nelson held as valid an entry by the Secretary of State, "in trust for the State of New York," though no formal assignment had been made. When, as in the case of a cyclopædia, many persons are employed at the offices of an employer, using his materials and facilities, and especially if on salary, the courts would undoubtedly uphold his full proprietorship in their work. Where outside persons contributed special articles, the presumption would probably be that the ownership of the copyright, for that special publication, vested in the employer, but that neither he, without the author's consent, nor the author, without his consent, could publish the article in other competing shape. There may be joint authorship in a work of common design, in which case the joint authors will become owners in common of the undivided property; but mere alterations or work on specific parts could not justify claim to more than such alterations or parts. No person, though a citizen, can obtain copyright in work of which any but a citizen or resident is the author, though the latter be in his employ. But it seems that a foreigner may enter copyright in the work of a citizen or resident author-it being foreign authorship, not ownership, which the law refuses to protect, though this point has not been judicially determined.

A resident, under the American decisions, is a person who intends to reside permanently in this country. It is decided by the intention of the resident. A person who is residing here without intention of permanence cannot maintain copyright. For English copyright, on the contrary, a person temporarily residing in Her Majesty's dominions is considered a resident.

The assignment of copyright opens vexed questions. The Revised Statutes provide for penalties against any one who shall print, publish, or import a copyrighted book," without the consent of the proprietor of the copyright first obtained in writing, signed in presence of two or more witnesses," as also against any one who shall sell or expose for sale such issue. They also provide that "copyrights shall be assignable in law, by any instrument of writing, and such assignment shall be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress within sixty days after its execution; in default of which it shall be void against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without

notice." The section first cited follows the phraseology of the early English statute, under which the English courts have held that assignments must be in writing, attested by two witnesses; the later statute of Victoria modifies this language, and the later English decisions, as to whether an assignment must be in writing, are confusing, if not contradictory. The section providing for the record of assignment somewhat patterns the method of registration of assignment provided by the English statute, but there left optional. The American law on this point has not been judicially construed; it seems probable that a written transfer would be required, but possibly not its attestation by two witnesses. The safe method of transfer, both in England and this country, is by writing, under attest of two witnesses, duly recorded in the copyright office. But assignment of common-law rights (as in an unpublished manuscript) may doubtless be by word of mouth. A proprietor can probably assign part of his copyright, as the right to dramatize; he can probably assign his rights for a portion of the term of copyright, or for another country, but probably not for a limited portion (as a particular State) of this country. But none of these points are judicially determined. Only an author, his widow, or children can obtain a renewal, but this renewal right can probably be assigned. It is possible that an author who assigns in specific words his entire rights bars himself as well as his assignee from the benefit of renewal.

The duration of all copyrights in this country is uniformly twenty-eight years, dating from the time of recording the title, with a renewal of fourteen years, securable only by the author, or, if he be dead at the expiration of the term, by his widow or children. No other heirs or persons can renew. In England the term of book copyright is the life-time of the author and seven years after his death, or forty-two years from first publication, whichever is the longer. The copyright in other articles varies according to the specific law. The Copyright Commission propose, for all copyright articles as well as books, a term of life and thirty years after the author's death, according to the German fashion, or in case of anonymous and posthumous books and encyclopædias, thirty years from the date of deposit in the British Museum, an anonymous author to have the right during the thirty years to obtain the full term by publishing an edition with his name.

The English law contains a specific provision that in the case of articles in periodicals (but not in an encyclopædia) the right to publish in separate form shall revert to an author after twentyeight years; the Commission purposes a term of

three years, during which time also the author as well as the general owner may bring suit against piracy. No specific provision on this point exists in this country.

The

IN the United States the Revised Statutes and the official "Directions for securing copyright" promulgated thereunder by the Librarian of Congress, prescribe exactly the method of entering copyright, and unless the statute is precisely complied with, the copyright is not valid. Said Mr. Justice Sawyer, in Parkinson vs. Laselle: "There is no possible room for construction here. statute says no right shall attach until these acts have been performed; and the court cannot say, in the face of this express negative provision, that a right shall attach unless they are performed. Until the performance as prescribed, there is no right acquired under the statute that can be violated." And in the case of the play "Shaughraun," Boucicault vs. Hart, in 1875, Mr. Justice Hunt held, as regards copyrights in general: 'The work must be published within a reasonable time after the filing of the title-page, and two copies be delivered to the Librarian. These two acts are by the statute made necessary to be performed, and we can no more take it upon ourselves to say that the latter is not an indispensable requisite to a copyright than we can say it of the former." The Supreme Court laid down this general doctrine in Wheaton vs. Peters, in reference to the statutes of 1790 and 1802, and the later statutes are most explicit on this point. In the same case of Wheaton vs. Peters, Mr. Justice McLean, in delivering the judgment of the Supreme Court, held that while the right "" accrues, so that it may be protected in chancery, on the recording of the title of a book, it must be perfected by complying with the other requisites before a suit at law for violation of copyright can be maintained.

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Under the present laws, the statutory requisites

are:

1. The delivery at the office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit in the mails to his address, before publication, of a printed copy of title, or, in the case of a painting, etc., of a description of the same. Any postmaster is required, if requested, to receipt for such title or description. No affidavit or form of application is prescribed; but the applicant should give his full name and address, and state whether he claims copyright as author, designer, or proprietor. With each application should be sent one dollar, of which fifty cents is for recording the entry and fifty cents for the certificate of entry which the Librarian returns by mail. If the certificate is not desired at this time, only fifty cents need be sent.

"The printed title required may be a copy of the title page of such publications as have titlepages. In other cases, the title must be printed expressly for copyright entry, with name of claimant of copyright. The style of type is immaterial, and the print of a type-writer will be accepted. But a separate title is required for each entry, and each title must be printed on paper as large as commercial note. The title of a periodical must include the date and number."

2. The insertion, in every copy published, on the title-page or page following, in the case of a book, or the inscription on the face or mounting of other articles, of the notice, Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year

by in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington," or of the short form, "Copyright, 18 by ." This exact phraseology and order of words must be followed, and it has been held that any inaccuracy in the name of the copyright proprietor (as in the English case of Sampson Low, Son & Co.,

vs. Routledge, by Vice-Chancellor Kindersley) or in the date of the entry (as in the American case of Baker vs. Taylor, when 1847 was put for 1846) makes the copyright invalid. A later decision of an American court held, however, that where a copyright notice gave the year 1866, while the true date was 1867, there was no harm done to the public, because a year of the copyright (which really ended in 1895 instead of 1894) was given to the public, whereas in the previous case an additional year was claimed. This decision, however, is not a safe precedent. A microscopic objection that N. Sarony (instead of Napoleon Sarony) was not a name was promptly quashed.

The original copyright entry must appear in every reprint of the first edition; and it would seem that this entry should also appear in every new edition newly copyrighted, as well as the new notice, so long as it is desired to protect the matter contained in the old edition. But the decision of Justice Clifford, in Lawrence vs. Dana, rules this to be superfluous. The statute does not expressly prescribe that the notice shall appear in successive volumes after a first, and in Dwight vs. Appleton, 1840, it was held that this was not necessary; but it is safer to print in all, especially if issued at different dates. The official Directions' indeed prescribe that a separate copyright is to be taken out for each volume; but this seems to be unsettled in the law, although it has been the general practice from the beginning. The law imposes a penalty of $100 upon any person who shall use the copyright notice without obtaining copyright.

3. The deposit, within ten days after publication, of two copies of the best edition of each book or other article, or, in the case of a painting, etc., within ten days after completion, of a photograph of the same (at least of cabinet size), with the Librarian of Congress or in the mails to his address. It is safer to address "To the Librarian of Congress" than to that officer by his personal name. The Librarian furnishes

free penalty labels" for mailing deposit copies, on application, and any postmaster is required, if requested, to receipt for such copies. The Librarian furnishes blank receipts for publications, if desired. The Librarian of Congress may recover a penalty of $25, by an action of debt, for omission to make such deposit. Under the laws existing in 1843, the Attorney-General held that if a book were deposited after the statutory time, opyright would avail nevertheless from the_date

of such deposit; but the judicial interpretations of the existing law hold that a copyright is not valid if deposit is not made within the ten days. The nature of this requirement is apt to be overlooked. The Librarian of Congress has been in the habit of sending out a reminder after the expiration of the ten days; but response to this would not help the copyright owner. The volume may be sent before publication, for instance, with the title-page at the time of entry. The law also requires the deposit of "a copy of every subsequent edition wherein any substantial changes shall be made," but there is no decision as to whether omission to do this would in any way invalidate the original copyright.

Publication consists in publicly offering for sale, or gratuitously circulating, from which act the ten days would count. A consignment of an edition, in which sale before a certain time is prohibited, is not publication, but a consignment which is practically a sale is, for "a sale naturally imports publication." It is not certain whether first publication abroad defeats copyright here. The officia! Directions" declare that "the time within which any work copyrighted may be issued from the press is not limited by any law or regulation, but depends upon the discretion of the proprietor;" but Justice Hunt held, as before quoted, that it must be "within a reasonable time." The official" Directions," say that a copyright may be secured for a projected work as well as for a completed one," but this refers, of course, to entering the title of books about to be published, and is not meant to contravene the legal decisions that there can be no copyright in works not in being.

The Copyright Office is required by law to give copyright certificates for fifty cents each, and for the same fee it furnishes information as to a given copyright to any person. The original application and printed title are filed away together, after the title has been copied into one of the prepared blank books known as the "Copyright Record," in which there is a continuous numbering for the year, and which becomes the main record. From this indexcards are made, and kept in an alphabetic cardcatalogue, giving the name of the book, the author, and the publisher, so that information can be obtained at once. This card-catalogue is not accessible to the public, but its information is furnished on request. In each certificate of copyright the title and claimant of copyright are entered upon a prepared blank, and the entries

in the Record book are fac similes of the certificates given. The date of deposit of volumes is given in the Record book, and also in the certificate when the title and volume are sent at one time. To procure the fourteen years' renewal beyond the original twenty-eight years, "the author, inventor, or designer, if he be still living and a citizen of the United States or resident therein, or his widow or children, if he be dead," must, "within six months before the expiration of the first term," record the title or description a second time, and comply "with all other regulations in regard to original copyrights." The fees are the same as for original copyrights "Applications for renewal," according to the official " Directions," must be accompanied by explicit statement of ownership, in the case of the author, or of relationship, in the case of his heirs, and must state definitely the date and place of entry of the original copyright. Within two months from the date of said renewal the renewer must publish a copy of the record “in one or more newspapers printed in the United States, for the space of four weeks." An assignee cannot obtain a renewal, although an author may contract with the assignee to take out and to convey to him the benefit of a renewal; he may also contract not to renew, and so bar his own right.

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An assignment, made by any instrument of writing, "shall be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress within sixty days after its execution; in default of which," says the statute, "it shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice." The fee for this record and certificate is $1, and for a certified copy of any record of assignment $1.

The penalties and procedure in cases under the copyright law are specifically determined by statute. The penalty for false use of the copyright notice is $100, recoverable one half for the person who shall sue for such penalty, and one

half to the use of the United States. The penalty for printing, publishing or importing, or knowingly selling or exposing for sale unlawful copies of any book whose title is duly recorded, without consent of the proprietor "first obtained in writing, signed in presence of two or more witnesses," is forfeiture of all copies to the proprietor, and such damages as may be recovered in a civil action by such proprietor in any court of competent jurisdiction. An English decision holds that an importer is not innocent because he does not know that an importation includes copyright matter; and the wording of our law implies the same, though an American decision held that a partner or employer is not chargeable with statute penalties for acts done without his knowledge by a partner or agent. The penalty against an infringer in the case of all other copyright articles, except books and dramatic compositions, is forfeiture to the proprietor of all plates on which the article shall be copied, and every sheet thereof, and $1 for every sheet thereof; or, in the case of a painting, statue or statuary, $10 for every copy thereof found in his possession-one half to go to the proprietor and the other half to the use of the United States. The penalty for infringement of "play-right" is damages to be assessed by the court. at not less than $100 for the first and $50 each for subsequent performances. A person who unlawfully prints a manuscript is liable to the proprietor "for all damages." Any action must be commenced within two years after the cause has arisen. The general issue may be pleaded, and special matter given in evidence. The Circuit and District Courts having circuit jurisdiction may grant injunctions for copyright wrongs upon bill in equity. The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction " of all suits at law or in equity arising under the patent or copyright laws of the United States," with writ of error or appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.