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New record books

new law

Number of copyright registrations.
Number of renewals recorded.

Total number of entries recorded.

Number of certified copies of record . .
Number of assignments recorded or copied..

108, 067

I, 007

109, 074

997

814

The new copyright act permitted the introduction and use of new record books of an improved character, securing greater expedition in recording, and greater facility of reference and search. This first year of operation under the Advantages of new law has demonstrated the administrative advantages secured thereby. It is possible to keep the current business much more closely up to date and to eliminate a larger proportion of uncleared material. The fees applied for the fiscal year under the new law exceeded the one hundred thousand dollar mark, and were nearly twenty-one thousand dollars in excess of the fees for the previous fiscal year. The annual fees have nearly doubled during the last thirteen years, since 1897.

spondence

Increased corre- On the other hand, the first year of the new law (as was to be expected) greatly increased the Copyright Office correspondence. The greater part of the business of the

Copyright Office is done by correspondence. The fees, deposits, and applications are almost entirely received through the mails or by express. The total letters and parcels received numbered 153,300 pieces, while the letters, certificates, parcels, etc., dispatched numbered 189,708. Letters received transmitting remittances numbered 45,000, including money orders to the number of 27,505. During the last thirteen fiscal years, the money orders received numbered 301,139.

CONDITION OF COPYRIGHT OFFICE WORK

(a) Current work

Condition of cur

At this date (July 6, 1910) the remittances received up, Conditi to the third mail of the day have been recorded. The account books of the bookkeeping division are written up and posted to June 30, and the accounts rendered to the Treasury Department are settled up to and including the month of June, while earned fees to June 30, inclusive, have been paid into the Treasury.

All copyright applications received up to and including June 30 have been passed upon and refunds made. The total unfinished business for the full thirteen years from July 1, 1897, to June 30, 1910, amounts to but $383.98.

At the close of business on July 6, 1910, the works deposited for copyright registration up to and including June 30 had all been recorded except 10 books, 2 pieces of music, 2 dramas, and 15 photographs, 29 works in all.

(b) Deposits received prior to July 1, 1897

July 1, 1897

During the fiscal year 1909-10 about 17,500 articles Deposits prior to received prior to July 1, 1897, were examined preparatory to being credited to their respective entries. Entries were found for some 15,000 of these and the articles were arranged by their entry numbers to facilitate crediting later. No entries were found for about 2,500 pieces, which were therefore laid aside until the entire remaining accumulation of uncredited pamphlet matter, numbering 34,444 pieces, have been examined. The examination of this old material becomes proportionally slow and its identification more difficult as the remaining material presents fewer clues under which search can be made for possible entries.

(c) Accumulated deposits

deposits

Elimination of The copyright act going into force on July 1, 1909, provides for the gradual elimination of the accumulated copyright deposits. From time to time as requested articles not needed have been returned to the claimants of copyright. Owing, however, to the pressure of business caused by the new act, without a corresponding increase in the Copyright Office force (requested in the urgent deficiency bill of 1910), the rearranging of these deposits for the purpose of final disposal has had to be postponed. It is now proposed to use the space allotted in the new stack and to proceed with the elimination as rapidly as is practicable.

Copyright bills

COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION AND INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT
RELATIONS

I. Legislation

Notwithstanding a new general consolidated copyright act was approved on March 4, 1909, and went into effect on July 1, 1909, three new copyright bills were introduced during the Sixty-first Congress. The first was presented by the Hon. Philip P. Campbell, of Kansas, on July 23, 1909, providing for the suspension of protection when any patent or copyright was owned, used, or leased by any trust or monopoly." The second, by the Hon. George W. Gordon, of Tennessee, presented on May 13, 1910, provides specific damages in the case of infringement of copyright. The third, by the Hon. Andrew J. Peters, of Massachusetts, introduced on June 11, 1910, provides that the sale of a work of art by a foreigner to a citizen of the United States shall operate to permit the purchaser to reproduce the work when not for commercial use or sale.©

No action was taken on these bills, other than to refer them to the House Committee on Patents. The full texts are printed as Addendum No. 1 to this report, pages 119-121. Interpretation of It was to be expected that the new law would give rise to some questions of interpretation, and certain provisions of

copyright law

a 1909 (July 23). A bill suspending the patent and copyright laws of the United States when a patent or copyright or any article or product protected by patent or copyright is owned, used, or leased by any trust or monopoly in violation of any law in restraint of trade. Presented by Mr. Campbell. H. R. bill No. 11796. Printed, 3 pp. 4°. [Referred to the Committee on Patents.]

b 1910 (May 13). A bill to amend section 4964 of the Revised Statutes of the United States. Presented by Mr. Gordon. H. R. bill No. 25872. Printed, 2 pp. 4°. [Referred to the Committee on Patents.]

C1910 (June 11). A bill to amend an act to amend and consolidate the laws relating to copyright. Presented by Mr. Peters. H. R. bill No. 26760. Printed, 2 pp. [Referred to the Committee on Patents.]

the new legislation have been submitted from time to time to the Attorney-General for his opinion thereon. The full text of these opinions rendered during the year, together with certain decisions of the Treasury Department in regard to importation under the new copyright law, are printed in full as Addendum No. 2 to this report, pages 123-153.

II. International copyright relations

lamations

The copyright act provides for the publication of Presi-, Copyright proc dential Proclamations in the case of international copyright relations. The question having been raised whether a new copyright proclamation was necessary so far as the reciprocal copyright relations already established with certain foreign nations were concerned, the matter was submitted to the Attorney-General for his opinion. His decision was that a new proclamation should be issued and that such new proclamation might be retroactive in terms and effect. Accordingly a general copyright proclamation declaring reciprocal copyright relations with Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland was signed on April 9, 1910, and duly promulgated. The Attorney-General's opinion of March 19, 1910 is printed in full in Addendum 2 to this report, pages 123-153, and the full text of the copyright proclamation of April 9, 1910, as Addendum 3, pages 155–156.

A proclamation was also made in behalf of Luxembourg on June 29, 1910.

The Second Pan-American Copyright Convention of 1902 was ratified by the President March 16, 1908, and proclaimed April 9, 1908. It went into effect as between the United States and Guatemala, Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua on July 1, 1908. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Nicaragua having been temporarily severed, however, no steps can be taken looking to the protection in Nicaragua of American copyrights until diplomatic relations with that country have been reestablished.* Respectfully submitted

HERBERT PUTNAM

Librarian of Congress

THORVALD SOLBERG
Register of Copyrights

*Since the above was written, such reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Nicaragua has taken place.

Pan-American

Convention

EXHIBIT A-Statement of gross receipts, refunds, net receipts, and fees applied for fiscal year ending June 30, 1910

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Copyright fees applied July 1, 1909, to June 30, 1910........

Balance carried forward to July 1, 1910:

Trust funds....

Unfinished business.

$2,275.45

$113,662.83

4, 519. 62

109, 143. 21

III, 418. 66

$104, 644.95

$6,389.73

383.98

6,773.71

III, 418. 66

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