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House bill, no. 13355

pose of this bill is to secure the insertion in the list of the
subject-matters of copyright of the following articles: "Any
check, voucher, certificate, or other business form entirely
or partly printed." Congress has taken no further action

on this bill.a

d. Affidavit that copyright books have been type set in the
United States

On March 2, 1904, Mr. Tawney, of Minnesota, intro-
duced "A bill to amend the copyright laws," which was
referred to the House Committee on Patents and ordered
to be printed. The bill appeared as House bill no. 13355,"
and proposes a proviso to section 4956 of the Revised
Statutes, which requires the deposit of American-made
copies in the case of books, photographs, chromos, and
lithographs, that such copies be accompanied by an affidavit
that they have been thus produced in the United States.
The bill was reported with an amendment on April 26, 1904,
referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to be reprinted.
The bill as amended provides:

"That accompanying the two copies of the book, photograph, chromo or lithograph required to be delivered or deposited, as herein provided, there shall be an affidavit under the official seal of any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, duly made by the person desiring the said copyright or by his duly authorized agent or representative residing in the United States, setting forth that the two copies required to be so deposited have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States or from plates made therefrom, or from negatives or drawings on stone made within the limits of the United States or from transfers made therefrom; * * *and the place within the limits of the United States at which such type was set, or plates or negatives were made, and by whom." A second section of the bill further provides:

"That any person violating any of the provisions of this act or who shall be guilty of making a false affidavit as to his having complied with the conditions thereof for the purpose of obtaining a copyright shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, and

a Hearing, House Committee on Patents, Tuesday, January 10, 1905.
b For full text of this bill, see pp. 22-24.

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all of his rights and privileges under said copyright shall thereafter be forfeited."

no. 2857

The bill was reported by Mr. Otis, of New York, from the House report, House Committee on Patents, on April 26, and the report was referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed as House report no. 2857." The report states that the present law, which requires the deposit of two copies of a copyright publication printed from type set within the United States, does not require any proof to be filed that such books have been so printed, nor impose any penalty for failure to comply with this condition, and continues:

"After investigation your committee have reason to believe that it is not only possible, but that in some instances the present law has been evaded and violated to the injury of American labor, and that this can be done with comparative ease under the existing law; that there is no remedy and no means of enforcing this condition as to printing from type set by American labor and within our own country. That being the case, your committee is of the opinion that the person applying for a copyright should be required as a condition precedent to furnish proof in the form of an affidavit that all of these conditions with respect to the labor employed in the printing and the place of printing the copies of books to be deposited have been complied with, and in the event that any false statement is made in said affidavit concerning a material fact, and upon conviction thereof, the person thus attempting to obtain a copyright should be punished and the copyright forfeited."

The committee recommended that, as amended, the bill should pass, and it was passed by the House on the same day. It was presented to the Senate and referred to the Committee on Patents on December 6, 1904.

e. Consent of copyright proprietor to importation of copyright

books

Senator Platt, of Connecticut, introduced, on March 30, 1904, "A bill to amend title sixty, chapter three, of the Revised Statutes, relating to copyrights," which was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Patents, and printed as Senate bill no. 5314. The purport of this bill is to add to the provisions of section 4956 of the Revised

a For full text of this report see pp. 24-26.

b For full text of this bill, see pp. 26-28.

Senate bill, no.

5314

Statutes, relating to copyrights, a proviso to the effect that "the privilege accorded to certain institutions under paragraph five hundred and fifteen of section two [of the tariff act of October first, eighteen hundred and ninety], to import free of duty not more than two copies of books, maps, lithographic prints, and charts, shall apply to the importation of books, maps, lithographic prints, and charts which have been copyrighted in the United States, only when the holders of the American copyrights thereof in writing consent to such importation," and that the exception to the prohibition of importation in favor of persons purchasing for use and not for sale, who import, subject to the duty thereon, not more than two copies of a book at any one time, such importation shall be only "with the written consent of the holders of the American copyrights." Congress adjourned before this bill was reported from the committee.

Senate bill, no.

2229

III. FULL TEXTS OF PENDING COPYRIGHT BILLS
AND ACCOMPANYING REPORTS

[S. 2229. Calendar no. 188. Report no. 188. Fifty-eighth Congress, second session. In the Senate of the United States. December 8, 1903.]

Mr. Platt, of Connecticut, introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Patents.

[January 8, 1904, reported by Mr. Clapp, without amendment.]

A BILL to amend chapter forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the
Revised Statutes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 4952. The author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of

any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter, have the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, completing, copying, executing, finishing, and vending the same, and in the case of a dramatic composition of publicly performing or representing it or causing it to be performed or represented by others; and authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatize and translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States.

Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country. before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall, within the twelve months after the first publication of such book in a foreign country, obtain a copyright for a translation of such book in the English language, which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book, he and they shall have, during the term of such copyright, the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, vending, translating, and dramatizing the said book, and in the case of a dramatic composition, of publicly performing the same, or of causing it to be performed or represented by others."

[Senate Report no. 188. Calendar no. 188. Fifty-eighth Congress, second session.]

AMENDING CHAPTER 4952, REVISED STATUTES

[January 8, 1904.-Ordered to be printed.]

Mr. Clapp, from the Committee on Patents, submitted the following report [to accompany S. 2229]:

The Committee on Patents, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2229) to amend chapter 4952 of the Revised Statutes, have given the same careful consideration and recommend that it pass without amendment.

Senate report, no. 188

House bill, no. 6487

[H. R. 6487. Report no. 1287. Fifty-eighth Congress, second session. In the House of Representatives, December 9, 1903.]

Mr. Currier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Patents and ordered to be printed.

[March 1, 1904. Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to be printed.]

A BILL to amend chapter forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the
Revised Statutes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-nine hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 4952. The author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, and of models or designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, and the executors, administrators, or assigns of any such person shall, upon complying with the provisions of this chapter, have the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, completing, copying, executing, finishing, and vending the same; and, in the case of a dramatic composition, of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. And authors or their assigns shall have exclusive right to dramatize or translate any of their works for which copyright shall have been obtained under the laws of the United States.

"Whenever the author or proprietor of a book in a foreign language, which shall be published in a foreign country before the day of publication in this country, or his executors, administrators, or assigns, shall, within twelve months after the first publication of such book in a foreign country, obtain a copyright for a translation of such book in the English language, which shall be the first copyright in this country for a translation of such book, he and they shall have, during the term of such copyright, the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, vending, translating, and dramatizing the said book, and, in the case of a dramatic

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