REVISION OF COPYRIGHT LAWS TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1936 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. Fritz G. Lanham presiding. Mr. LANHAM. The committee will come to order. The chairman, unfortunately, is ill, and he has asked me to act in his stead this morning. I hope he will soon be able to return to the hearings. According to the agenda, this morning is set apart for hearing the National Association of Broadcasters, represented by Mr. James W. Baldwin, Sydney M. Kaye, and Louis G. Caldwell, as attorneys for the National Association of Broadcasters. Before proceeding with that, I understand, Mr. Clerk, that a lady has filed a statement which she wishes incorporated in the record, that has to do with another feature of the bill. I think it is in reference to literary authors. Is that correct? The CLERK. Yes, Mr. Chairman; it is a statement by Mary Greer Conklin, essayist, requesting permission to file this brief. She, as well as others, has been requested to follow this procedure by the clerk of the House Committee on Patents on account of the inability to hear all those who wish to appear and give oral testimony. Accordingly, she has filed this brief this morning and requested that it be incorporated in the record. Mr. LANHAM. Without objection, it will be incorporated in the record at the appropriate place with reference to the feature of the bill to which it pertains. The CLERK. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. LANHAM. Have you gentlemen who are to appear this morning arranged among yourselves who will be the first witness? Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir; we have, Mr. Chairman. I have a brief statement to make. Mr. LANHAM. Mr. Baldwin. STATEMENT OF JAMES W. BALDWIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS Mr. BALDWIN. My name is James W. Baldwin. I am managing director of the National Association of Broadcasters. I have served in that position since July 10, 1935. The National Association of Broadcasters has 388 active members, including every class of broadcasting station, and representing approximately 62 percent of the broadcasting stations licensed by the Government. Our members are located in 47 States and in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. I offer for the record, Mr. Chairman, a copy of our constitution and bylaws, a list of our officers and directors, and a list of our members. Mr. LANHAM. Without objection, that will be inserted in the record. (The documents referred to will be found in the appendix.) Mr. BALDWIN. The purpose of our association is described in article II of our constitution, which reads as follows: The object of this association shall be to foster and promote the development of the art of radio broadcasting; to protect its members in every lawful and proper manner from injustices and unjust exactions; to foster, encourage, and promote laws, rules, regulations, customs, and practices which will be for the best interest of the public and the radio industry. By Executive order dated November 27, 1933, President Roosevelt found that the National Association of Broadcasters was truly representative of the radio broadcasting industry, and that our bylaws provided no inequitable restrictions to membership. Our members, on July 10, 1935, in annual convention assembled, unanimously adopted the following resolution: Resolved, That the National Association of Broadcasters hereby petitions the Congress of the United States speedily to enact Senate bill no. 3047, generally known as the Duffy copyright bill, which brings the Copyright Act of 1909 into conformity with the pending treaty which would permit American entry into the International Copyright Union, and which will afford relief to broadcasting stations, hotels, restaurants, public gatherings, valet shops, etc., by eliminating the minimum statutory damage provision and permitting the court to determine the amount of damages. And that a copy of this resolution be communicated to the chairman of the Patents Committee of the Senate, the Honorable William G. McAdoo; to Senator Duffy; to the chairman of the Patents Committee of the House of Representatives, Representative Sirovich, and to Representative Bloom. And on February 3, 1936, our board of directors, in pursuance of the above mandate, instructed their managing directors to bend every effort to bring about enactment of the Duffy copyright bill (S. 3047) in the form in which it passed the Senate, and to oppose any attempt to insert or restore the minimum statutory damages or penalties for infringement. The position of the National Association of Broadcasters, Mr. Chairman, with your permission, will be presented by Mr. Kaye. Mr. LANHAM. Just a moment, Mr. Baldwin. It may be that some of the members of the committee will wish to ask you some questions. Mr. DALY. I would like to ask one question, with an apology, perhaps, for asking it, and my only reason for doing it is that the committee elicited similar information from another organization. You are the managing director of this association? Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir. Mr. DALY. Might I ask you what they pay you a year? per year. Mr. DALY. $11.000? Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir. Mr. DALY. I have no further questions at this time. Mr. LANHAM. Mr. Dunn? Mr. DUNN. Mr. Baldwin, how many broadcasting stations belong to the National Broadcasting Corporation? Mr. BALDWIN. You mean to our association, Mr. Dunn? Mr. BALDWIN. Three hundred and eighty-eight stations. Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir. Mr. DUNN. How many stations are in New York? Mr. BALDWIN. In the State of New York? Mr. DUNN. Yes, sir. Mr. BALDWIN. I am sorry I cannot answer that question offhand. I will be very glad to furnish that information for the record. Mr. DUNN. Mr. Baldwin, I listened to the resolution which was adopted at a convention or conference of the broadcasting stations. They are in favor of the way the Duffy bill is written now? Mr. BALDWIN. As it passed the Senate. Mr. DUNN. As it passed the Senate; yes. Mr. Baldwin, I have a letter which I received last week from the Independent Stores of Pennsylvania, many, many independent stores, and in fact the letter states, I believe, exactly the number of stores throughout the State belonging to this independent group. Many of those stores are large stores. They may say that if the Duffy bill passes, it will put them completely out of business, and many of those large independent stores are not only in Philadelphia but in the city of Pittsburgh. In fact, I just sent down to my office to have the letter brought up here. You see what we have to contend with is a group of people who want the bill in the present form and others maintain if the bill passes it will put them completely out of business. We do not want to do anything to injure anybody, and want to do what is right, and do not want to obstruct justice and progress. I believe every member of the committee is willing to do his utmost to see that legislation won't be passed that will hurt the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and we do not want to pass any legislation which will be a detriment to the broadcasting companies, and we do not want to pass any legislation which would injure the independent stores. So what would you suggest? Mr. BALDWIN. I assume, Mr. Dunn, that the interests of those stores have to do with those provisions in the Duffy bill treating designs. Of course, designs are something which we, as broadcasters, have no interest in. In the Senate, I believe they adopted what was known as the Vandenberg amendment, which did deal with that subject, but, as I say, we have no interest in designs, sir, and are naturally not prepared to discuss that question. Mr. Dunn. You can see what we have to contend with. Mr. BALDWIN. I do; yes, sir. Mr. LANHAM. I will say, Mr. Dunn, for your information, that on the agenda time is set aside for people interested in that particular question to appear and testify. Mr. DUNN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just wanted to make that statement to show what we have to contend with. That is all, thank you. Mr. LANHAM. Have you a question, Mr. Daly? Mr. DALY. Yes, sir. I understood you to say a moment ago that your organization passed a resolution, I think on February 3 of this year, advocating the passage of the Duffy bill as the Senate passed it. Mr. BALDWIN. The resolution, Mr. Daly, was adopted July 10 last year. Mr. DALY. Whenever it was is immaterial. Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir. Mr. DALY. But substantially I am right in the text of the resolution, am I not? Mr. BALDWIN. That is correct. Mr. DALY. That you approve of the bill as it is written, without changes or amendments? Mr. BALDWIN. That is correct; yes, sir. Mr. DALY. Yet did I understand you to say a moment ago, in response to Congressman Dunn's query, that there were parts of the bill in which you are not interested at all? Mr. BALDWIN. That is true with respect to designs. Mr. DALY. Am I to understand, then, that you passed a resolution favoring the adoption of the bill as it passed the Senate, although there are clauses in it which you do not care anything about? Mr. BALDWIN. Not exactly. Mr. DALY. Do you want the clauses in which you are not interested and about which you know nothing passed? Does it make any difference to you? Mr. BALDWIN. We do not know. We assume these persons who are interested in designs, for example, have made their interests known to the legislators, and that you gentlemen will be acquainted with their problems and will be able to evaluate those provisions in the law. Mr. DALY. You see what I am getting at is that particular clause which you are referring to now is one that you presume some other people are interested in, and on which they will present their views here, but, despite that fact and despite the fact that you have no interest in it at all, you passed a resolution wanting those particular clauses passed? Mr. BALDWIN. That is true, because we knew that the bill had been drafted by the interdepartmental committee, whom we considered to be importial in the matter, and we believed that they had taken all those things into consideration. Mr. DALY. Might I ask you to repeat, if you have already said it, how many broadcasting stations there are in the United States? Mr. BALDWIN. Six hundred and thirty-eight licensed or authorized to be constructed. Mr. DALY. How many of those are members of your organization? Mr. BALDWIN. It figures out, I believe, about 62 percent. Mr. DALY. About 62 percent. Do you know the total amount received by commercially operated broadcasting stations of the United States, nonmembers as well as members of your organization, for the year 1935? Mr. BALDWIN. Yes, sir; I have those figures for you some place. For the calendar year 1935 the gross receipts amounted to $87,523,848. Mr. DALY. Can you give me the total figures representing the amounts paid by commercial broadcasters during 1935 to musicians, singers, orchestras, and talent employed for the rendition of music? Mr. BALDWIN. Mr. Daly, those figures have not been compiled. I cannot give them to you. Mr. DALY. You have offered your bylaws in evidence? Mr. BALDWIN. I have; yes, sir. Mr. DALY. Do those bylaws show the salaries of your officers? Mr. BALDWIN. They do not, sir. Mr. DALY. Could you give me the salaries of your officers? Mr. BALDWIN. I have given you the salary of the only officer. Mr. DALY. You have given your own salary, $11,000. You are the managing director, and I understood you to say that you got $11,000 a year. Is that right? Mr. BALDWIN. That is right. Mr. DALY. The president of the association gets what? Do you know? Mr. BALDWIN. He receives no salary. Mr. DALY. He receives no salary? Mr. BALDWIN. That is correct. Mr. DALY. Does any officer receive any salary outside of yourself? Mr. BALDWIN. No, sir. Mr. DALY. Are you familiar with the National Broadcasting Co.? Mr. BALDWIN. I think so; yes, sir. Mr. DALY. Are you familiar with the salary that their officers get? Mr. BALDWIN. No, sir; I do not know anything about them at all. Mr. DALY. Your association has but one paid official, and that is yourself? Mr. BALDWIN. That is correct. Mr. DALY. And you are not familiar with the salaries paid to the officers of the other broadcasting companies? Mr. BALDWIN. That is correct, I do not know. Mr. LANHAM. May I ask, simply for information, Mr. Baldwin, do you speak for, say, the National Broadcasting Co. and the Columbia Broadcasting System, who conduct the great networks? Are they a part of your organization? Mr. BALDWIN. Mr. Lanham, the network companies, as such, are not members of our association. The stations which those network companies own are members, but not the network companies. Mr. LANHAM. Then you are not an officer of the National Broadcasting Co. or of the Columbia Broadcasting System, primarily? Mr. BALDWIN. In no sense. Mr. LANHAM. If no other member of the committee has any questions to ask, Mr. Baldwin, I have a few questions that I would like to ask you. I do not know whether I should direct them to you, or whether I should direct them to some of the other gentlemen who are to speak. Do these 388 stations in your organization include the stations in the network of the National and Columbia? Mr. BALDWIN. Both owned and affiliated are included in that number. Mr. LANHAM. Does it include all of those that are owned and affiliated by them? 53579-36-23 |