US Copyright Office: ar-1931

8/14/2019 US Copyright Office: ar-1931

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THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESSCOPYRIGHT OFFICE

THIRTY- FOURTHANNUAL REPORT

O F T H E

REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTSFOR THE FISCAL YEAR

ENDING JUNE 30

UNITED STATESGOVERNMENT PRINTING ,OFFLCE

WASHINGTON: 931


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PUBLICATIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE

The following publications were issued in limited editions, but may be had(so far as any are still available) from the SUP ~NT END ENTF DOCUMENTB.W A S E I N G ~ N ,. C., upon payment in advance of the nominal price given, whichincludes postage.

Postal money orders or dra fts should be made payable and addressed to theSUPWNTEXDENTF PUBLICOCUMENTRStamps and uncertifled checks are notaccepted.BULLETIN NO.3. Paper, 15c.; loth, 35c.

Copyright Enactments of the United States, 1783-1906. 2d ed., rev. 174pp. 8". 1906.

B U L L ~ I No. 8. Cloth, 6 5 ~ .Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. A bibliography and chronological rec-

ord of all proceedings in Congress in relation to copyright. 468 pp. 8".1905.

BULL~INNo. 11. Paper, lOc.Copyright in Japan. Lnw of March 3, 1899, and copyright convention

between the United States and Japan, May 10, 1906, ogether with thetext of earlier enactments. v+50 pp. 8". 1908.

I~UL.LE~IN NO. 14.The Copyright Law of the Un ited S ta tes of America, being the Act of

March 4, 1909 (in force July 1, 1909). a s amended by th e Acts of A ugust24, 1912, March 2 1913, March 28, 1914, December 18, 1919, July 3, 1928,alld Mny 23, 1928, ogether with Rules for Practice and Procedure underSection 25, by t he Supreme Court of th e United States. 80 pp. 8". 1931.

BKILLE~IN NO. 16.Copyright in England. Act 1 an d 2 Geo. 5, ih . 46. An Act to amend

and consolidate the law relating to copyright, passed December 16, 1911.54 pp. 8 1914.

BULLEITNNo. 17. Cloth, 50c.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1909-1914.

Second enlarged edition. ui, 279 pp. 8". 1928.B U L L ~ I No. 18. Cloth, 60c.

Decisions of th e United Sta tes cou rts involving copyright. 1914-1017.ix, 605 pp. 8'. 1918.

EWLLFPIN NO.19. Cloth,$l.Decis io~~sf the United States courts involving copyrighL . 1918-1924.

xi, 477 pp. 8 1926.DBAMATICOMPOSITIONBOPYUIQHTEDN TH E U m TAW, 187&1916. [Over60,000 itles alphabetically arranged, with complete index to authors, pro-

prietors, translators, etc.] 1 p. l., v. 3547 pp. 4". 1018. 2 vols. Cloth, $4INFOBMATIONIRCULAR. NO. 4 A.-International Copyright Convention. Re-

vised text, Berlin, 1908. 10 pp. 4 No. 4 B.-Additional protocol to theInter natio nal Copyr ight Convention of Berlin, November 13, 1908, igned a tBerne, March 20,1914. 2 pp. 4O. No. 4 C.-International Copyright Con-vention. New revision, signed at Rome, June 2, 1928. French text, withEnglish translation. 14 pp. 4O.


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CONTENTS

Copyright office publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Copyright bills in Congress:

Design copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .General revision of t he copyrigh t law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Copyright in Canade----------------------------------------------International copyright--------------------------------------------Copyright tables, receipts, fees, registrations, deposifa- - ------------,--Addenda:

H. R. 11852, in the Senat e February 14, 1931, with amendments----S. Report No. 1627, February 14, 1931 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .S. Report No. 1627, part 2, February 19, 1931 ...................S. 5687, Januar y 13, 1931, a bill to am end sections 23,26, and 28 of theact of 1909-------------------,-------,,-----------------------H. R. 12549, in the Sena te February 23, 1931, with amendments--,S. Report, No. 1732, February 23, 1931-----------------------

8. . Ree. No. 264, March 2, 1931--,------,-----------------


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REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF .COPYRIGHTSFOR THE FISCAL YEAR 193031

WASHIN~TON,.c., J d y 0,1981.SIR: he copyright business and th e work of the Copy-

right Office for the fiscal year July 1, 1930, to Ju ne 30,1931, inclusive, are summarized as follows :

The gross receipts during the year were $312,865.41. A Fees, &.,balance of $25,127.65, representing trust funds and un-W Wfinished business, was on hand July 1, 1930, making ato ta l sum of $337,993.06 to be accounted for. Of thisamount the sum of $7,197.66 was refunded as excess feesor as fees for articles not registrable, leaving a net bal-ance of $330,795.40. Th e balance carried over t 3 July1, 1931, was $21,381.10 (representing trust funds andtotal unfinished business), leaving fees applied duringthe fiscal year 1 93031 and paid into th e Treasury,$309,41430.

The annual applied fees since July 1, 1897, are:1897-98-------,--55,926.501893-99---------- 58,267.001899-1900-------- 65,206.001!300-1901--~----- 63,687.501901-2 ----------- 64,687.0019023 ---------- 68,874.5010034 ---------- 72,629.001904-6----------- 78,058.001905-6----------- 80,198.001906-7 ----------- 84,685.001907-8 ---------- 82,387.501908-9-- --------- 83,816.751909-10---------- 104,644.951910-11 ---------- 109,913.951911-12 ---------- 116,655.053012-13---------- 114,980.601913-14 ---------- 120,219.251914-16- -------,,11,922. 76

W L191&16---------- $112,986.851916-17----,-----10,077.401917-18 ---------- 106,352.401918-19,---------13,118.001919-a0 ---------- 126,492.25I%@ ------,---34,516.161921-22 ---------- 138,516.161922-!B ---------- 149,297.001923-24---------- 162,544.901W4-25---------- 166,908.651925-26---------- 178,307.a01926-27 ----- ---- 184,727.601927-28 ---------- 195,167.651928-29---------- 308,993.80192930 --------- 327,629.90183&31-----__--- 309,414.30. Total------ 4 ,36 l . 840.10


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2 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRXGHTSThis is the first year since the end of the World War to

show a falling off in the copyright fees. The obviousreason fo r it seems to be the general depression which hasaffected all lines of business.

EXPENDITURESb'oladm.19iW-U The appropriation made by Congress for salaries inthe Copyright Office for the fiscal year ending June 30,

1931, was $233,140.' Th e total expenditure f or salariess tat4onmuad was $233,133.39. The expenditure for supplies, includ-mnddes. ing stationery and other articles and postage on foreign

mail matter , etc., was $1,444.52. Th e total expenditureswere therefore $234,577.9'1. Th is sum deducted from$309,414.30 fees received and turned into the Treasury,d shows a profit of $74,536.39 to. the credit of the Copy-right Office.

(?opy*htre~- During the period of 34 years (1897-1931) the copy-tstra-tlow andfees, 18%-1951. right business, as evidenced by the applied fees, increasednearly sixfold, from $55,926.50 to $309,414.30. Duringthese 34 years since the organization of the present Copy-right Office the copyright fees applied and paid into theTreasury have amounted to a grand total of $4,361,840.40,and the total copyright registrations have numbered over

f!,C,eii~,x&*our millions (4,315,615). The fees earned ($4,361,840.40)were larger than the appropriations for salaries usedduring the same period ($3,591,626.05) by $770,214.35.

varueo~conv- I n addition to this direct profit, the la rge number ofdu ht depo84ts. over 7,000,000 books, m&s, musical worbs, periodicals,prints, and other articles deposited during the 34 yearswere of substantial pecuniary value and of such a char-acter tha t thei r accession to the Library of Congressthrough the Copyright Office effected a large saving tothe purchase fund of the Library equal in amount totheir price.

COPYRIGHT ENTFfIEB AND FEE8

Entriee am i The registrations f or the fiscal year numbered 164,642.leea. W M . Of these, 26,522 were registrations for unpublished worksat $1each; 129,672 were registrations for published worksat $2 each; 2,450 were registrations of photographs with-out certificates a t $1 each. There were also 5,998 regis-trations of renewals at $1 each. The fees for these pg is -trations amounted to a to ta l of $294,314.


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REPORT OF TEE REOISTJER OF aOPYRIGH!TB 3

Balance on hand July 1, 1930 ..................... $25,127.65CopuWht bu d -flea#.Gross receipts July 1, 1930, to June 30, 1931 ------- 312,865.41Total to be accounted fo r .................... 337,993.m

Refunded----------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - 7,197.66Balance to be accounted for------------------ 330,795.40-----

Applied as earned fee s----------------- $309,414.30Balance carried over to July

1, 1931:Trust funds------------- $18,582.32Uilfiilished business------ 2,798.78 21,381.10

330,795.40Fees for f lecyl yew

Fees for registration of published works, at $2 each- $259,344.00Fees for registration of unpublished works, a t $1each------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 26,522.00

Fees for registration of photographs without cer-tificates, a t $1 each------------------------------ 2,450.00

Fees for registration of renewals, a t $1 each--------- 5,998.00Total fees for registrations recorded---------- 294,314.00

Fees for certified copies of record, a t $1each----------------------------- $1,577.00

Fees for recording assignments----------- 12,160.00Searches illade and charged for a t th e ra te

of $1 fo r each hour of ti me consumed---- 629.00Notice of user recorded (music) ---------- 490.00Indexing transfers of proprietorship------ 244.30 15, '100.30

Total fees for the fiscal year 193031 -------- 309,414.30Entrfes

Number of registrations ............................ 158,844-.Number of renewals recorded----------- ------------ 5,998Total.................................... 164,642

Nuluber of certified copies of record.................... 1,577Number of assignments recorded or copied-------------- 3,631

COPYRIGHT DEPOSJTSThe total number of separate articles deposited in$zGd@o#-compliance with the copyright law which have beenregistered during the fiscal year is 262,690. The num-ber of these articles in each class for the last five fiscalyears is shown in Exhibit E.


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4 REPORT 0i THE REQIBTEB OF COPYBIGETSW o r k 8 c W m l ~ ~It is not possible to determine exactly how completelycopyriaht . the works which claim copyright are deposited, but in

response to inquiries received during the year from thecard division, the accessions division, law division, andthe reading room in regard t o x b o o k s supposed t ohave been copyrighted but not discovered in the Library,it 2vas found that 74 of these works had been receivedand were actually in the Library, 19 books had been de-posited and were still in the Copyright Office, 86 workswere either not published, did not claim copyright, orfor other valid reasons could not be deposited, while inthe case of 63 works no answers to our letters of inquiryhad been received up to June 30, 1931. Copies werereceived o f 9 orks in all in response to requests madeby the Copyright Office during the period of 12 monthsfor works published in recent years.

D ~ ~ 0 8 a l o f d e - Our copyright laws have required the deposit of copiesp0dt8 . for the use of the Library of Congress, and the act inforce demands a deposit of two copies of Americanbooks. The act provides, however, that of the works de-posited f or copyright, the Librarian of Congress maydetermine (1) what books or other articles shall be trans-ferred to the permanent collections of the Library ofCongress, including the law library; (2) what otherbooks or articles shall be placed in the reserve collectionsof the Library of Congress for sale or exchange; or (3)be transferred to other governmental libraries in theDistr ict of Columbia for use therein. The law fur therprovides (4) that articles remaining undisposed of mayupon specified conditions be returned to the authors orcopyright proprietors., During the fiscal year a total of 115,979 articles de-oonnreu. posited have been transferred to the Library of Con-gr es s This number included 35,566 books, 64,481 pe-riodical numbers, 8,507 pieces of music, 5,197 maps, and2,228 photographs and engravings.. Under authority of section 59 of the act of March 4,1909, there were transferred during the fiscal year toother governmental libraries in the Distr ict of Columbia" for use therein " 10,224 books. Under this transfer, upto June 30, 1931, the following libraries have receivedbooks as indicated below since 1909:

Department of Agriculture,. 3,935 ; Department ofCommerce, 20,173; Navy Department, 1,862; Treasury


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R.EPORT OF THE REOISTEB OF COPYRIOHT8 5Department, 1,496; Bureau of Education, 18,668; Fed-eral Trade Commission, 17,053; Bureau of Standards,2,094; Surgeon General's library, 7,464; Walter ReedHospital, 2,608; Engineer School, Corps of Engineers,3,153; Soldiers' Home, 1,599; Public Library of the Dis-trict of Columbia, 49,984. A number of other librarieshave received a smaller number of books, under 1,000volumes. I n all, 149,656 volumes have been thus dis-tributed during the last 22 years.The copyright act of 1909 authorizes the return to ,";;4rt;&yv-,jcopyright claimants of such deposits as are not needed ; t k t c h {m -by the Library of Congress or the Copyright Office, afterdue notice as required by section 60. I n response to spe-cial requests, 9,511 motion-picture films and 80,765 de-posits in other classes have been so returned during thefiscal year.

INDEX AND CATALOOUEO F COPYRIGHT ENTRIES

All copyright entries are promptly indexed. The in- Copu*flhtrnt4-lome.dex cards are ultimately inserted into the great cardindexes covering all classes of copyright entries from1897 to date and now numbering more than 7,000,000cards. These cards are first used as copy for the printedCatalogue of Copyright Entries, the current numbers ofwhich bind up, with annual indexes, to cover for eachclass all the entries made for the calendar year. Theannual volumes for 1930 are all completad.Beginning with the year 1928 the copyright entriesfor dramas and motion pictures make a separate part ofthe catalogue (part 1, group 3) printed in monthlynumbers.By the Act of Congress approved May 23, 1928, the ~ ~ m ~ t f o nsubscription price for the catalogue was increased, thecomplete catalogue for the year to $10 and the separateparts as follows:Part 1, group 1, books proper, $3; part 1, group 2,pamphlets and maps, $3; part 1,group 3, dramatic com-positions and motion pictures, $2; part 2, periodicals, $2;part 3, mnsical compositions, $3; part 4, works of art,photographic prints, and pictorial i~~ustrations,$2; sin-gle numbers (except book leaflets), 50 cents; annual in-dexes, each, for complete calendar year, $2; all parts forcomplete calendar year, $10.


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6 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIOHTBCORRESPONDENCE

correupona- A large part of the business of the Copyright Office iseMW). done by correspondence. The total letters and parcelsreceived during the fiscal year numbered 207,550, whilethe letters, parcels, etc., dispatched numbered 266,638.

ACCOUNTS

C o n d i t h o f On July 6, 1931, the books of the Copyright Officecurrent w k . were balanced for June, the accounts for the fiscal yearclosed and the financial statements completed for theTreasury Department, showing t,hat all earned fees toJune 30 had been paid into the Treasury.COPYRIGHT OFFICE PUBLICATIONS

a~puriaht The copyright law of the United States now in forcepublicationr. mas reprinted during the year a s Bulletin No. 14 of theCopyright Office as usual.Other than this and the Catalogue of Copyright En-tries printed periodically the office has published noth-ing during the year, but has now ready for publicationn further volume of compiled decisions of the courts re-lating to copyright which i t is hoped will soon be printedto continue the series published in previous years.

COPYRIGHT BILLE I N CONGREBBcouv rl~h t tlla The third session of the Seventy-first Congress endedtn Gonurear. on March 4, 1931, without enacting any copyrightmeasures. It opened on December 1,1930, with the copy-right general revision bill (H. R. 12549I) on the HouseCalendar as unfinished business and the design copy-right bill (H. R. 11852: passed by the House Ju ly 2)in the hands of the Senate Committee on Patents.

DESIGN COPYRIGHT

D.e.8ip.n cow- Public hearings on the design bill were held by theright. Senate Committee on Patents on December 16,1930, andJanuary 8,1931. The first of these was devoted to hear-ing from the proponents of the bill. Senator Copeland,of New York, though not a member of the committee,

See text of the blll prlnted In full In the Annual Report of the Registerof Copyrlghta for the Bscal year ending June 30, 1080.


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REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF- OPmOHT8 7spoke in favor of the bill, and Mr. Sylvan Gotshal or-ganized the program and called upon a number of speak-ers. The pressing need for this legislation was againdemonstrated pretty much as it had been brought out a tthe hearings of the House committee in the previousFebruary.At the following hearings on January 8 the opponentsof the Vestal design bill had their innings before theSenate committee. A good deal of opposition was de-veloped and some strong arguments were presented.There were those who, while willing to accept the prin-ciples of the bill in substance, believed tha t it would workan injustice in imposing hard conditions upon many in-dustries where little or no complaint of piracy is heard.And there were those who feared abuse of the privilegeof registration by unscrupulous designers who wouldregister anything regardless of originality and then pro-ceed to injunctions and suits for infringement. Manythought that some one besides the applicant should passupon the question of originality.Among the speakers were Isaac Lande and KennethCollins for the National Retail Dry Goods Association;Charles W. Johnson for the Botany Worsted Mills; Mil-ton Tibbets, of the Packard Motor Car Co., for the Na-tional Automobile Chamber of Commerce; Allen Sins-lleimer for the National Association of Retail Clothiersand Furnishers; Henry W. Carter for the Illinois GlassCo.; Thomas E. Robertson, Commissioner of Patents;and a number of patent attorneys.Arguments in rebuttal came from Frederick H.Knight, of the Susquehanna Silk Mills; Miss MaryBendelari; Thorvald Solberg, former register of copy-rights; and others.The design copyright bill w-as reported out from theCammittee in the Senate on February 14, with a ma-jority report by Senator Hebert (Report No. 1627) anda minority report by Senator Dill (Report No. 1627,part 2) on February 19. The bill was considerablychanged by important amendments.= The committee,for example, limited the application of the measure tofive specific classes of products as follows:(1) Textiles, lace and embroideries of al l kinds. (2) ; I ~ : o 01&Furniture. (3) Lamps and lighting fixtures. (4)- - -

Bee Cull text of the amended bi l l an reported out In the Senate, a d fthe reports, on pagee 19, 81, and 30 o f tbi. report.


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Shoes or other footwear. (5) Jewelry or articles manu-factured from gold, silver, platinum or other preciousmetals.

The bill as amended fur ther provides as follows:SEC.26. Design patents for designs for manufactured productsspecified in subdivision (c) of section 1 of this act obtained priorto the ef fective date of th is act under sections 4929. 4930, 1931,n?d 4934 of the Revised Statu tes , a s nmended, shall remnin infull force and effect, but no copyright may be secured under thisact in any design for which a patent ha s been so obtained . Onand a f te r the ef fective da te of th is act , a design pa tent n iay bec.btai:.ed for an y design fo r any such man ufactured product, butsuch patent sh all au tomatlcal ly termina te upon the applicat ionof such design to or it s embodiment in such manufa ctured product

ir the manner provided in this act, but nothing in this sectionshall be construed to prevent the securing of copyright under thisac t subsequent t o such termination of such design patent.Design patent This means, as explained in the report, tha t the authorto continue. of a design is to be protected as heretofore by action in

the Pate nt Office under the provisions of the design pat-ent act so long as his design is not reproduced in a inan-tifact,ured article. The purpose of this bill (H. R.CopyrightIwapplleddc6i~ns. 1852) is to afford protection by copyright of designsthat are applied to certain manufactured products andto transfer the supervision of these copyrights from thePatent Office to the Copyright Office.

But the bill, though on the calendar, failed to comeup on the floor of the Senate before March 4. I t waslost in the pressure of business at the close of the ses-sion, and Congress adjourned without passing it.

GENERAL REV IS IO N O F THE COPYRIGHT LAWa e n e r a l r h The general revision bill (H. R. 12549) with a nullhersion of theu ~ u w t w ~ t. f amendments, was passed by the. House on Janua ry

13, 1931, by a vote of 155 to 34, and was sent to the Sen-ate and referred to the Senate Committee on Patents.At this juncture Senator King introduced a bill toamend the present copyright law by limiting the termof copyright to 17 years and for other purposes. Thi sbill is printed in full on page 42 of this report.

'1031 (Jan. 13). A bill to amend ~ections 3, 25, nnd 28 of the actentitled "An act to amend nnd consolidate the acts respecting copyright,"nppmved Mar. 4, 1909. and for other purposes. Introduced by Mr. Klng,5.5657, and referred to the Committee on Patentr.


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REPORT OF THE BEQISTEE OF CYOPYRIQHTB 9Public hearings were held on the general revision bill P U ~ J ~ Oeadnu8on general rsvC(H.. 12549)' before the Senate Committee on Patents 8"onMaon January 28 and 29, 1931. The attendance was largeand the interest manifested was keen, while the argument,which waxed warm at times, ranged chiefly around thenew and fundamental features of the bill, viz, automaticcopyright, no requirement of a noti-, and adhesion bythe United States to the International Copyright Union.The opponents of the measure were heard first, themost prominent among them being the radio broad-casters and the manufacturers and operators of coin-operated machines used in drug stores and restaurants.The broadcasters emphasized the impracticability for

their purposes of an unrecorded copyright dating fromthe creation of the work. The radio opposition was pre-sented by Will iam S. Hedges, chairman of the executivecommittee of the National Association of Broadcasters ;Oswald F. Schuette, executive secretary of the RadioProtective Association; Louis G . Caldwell, counsel forthe Nationa 1 Association of Broadcasters, and others.Eugene C. Brokmeyer, of the National Association ofRetail Druggists, and H. E. Capehart, representing man-ufacturers of slot machines, presented the case for thoseinterests.Thorvald Solberg, former Register of Copyrights;H. H. 3.Meyer, of the Library of Congress; and M. L.Raney, of the University of Chicago, spoke in oppositionto the importation provisions of the bill. Objection tothe longer term of copyright covering the life of theauthor and 50 years after his death was voiced by anumber of speakers, among them J oh n W. Ziegler, aPhiladeIphia publisher. Other speakers included A.Julian Brylawski and F. J. Rembusch, representing the]notion-picture theater ownem.The second day was devoted to those who were in favorof the bill. William Hamil ton Osborne, counsel for theAuthors' League, led the program and marshaled thespeakers, who presented strong argument in support ofthe measure and made earnest plea for the passage ofthis bill, which is the result of so many years of effortand upon the essentials of which authors, composers, pub-lishers, and many interests dealing with copyright prop-

F o r the text of the blU see Annual Report of the Reglster of Copy-rights for the flscal year ending June 30 . 1930.


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10 REPORT OF THE REGLSTER OF COPYBIGHTSerty are in substantial agreement. Among the speakemwere Chester T. Cromell for the Authors' League ofAmerica ;Gene Buclr aud Louis D. Froelich for the Amer-ican Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers;Otto C. TViernm, of the New York City Bar Associa-tioil; Arthur TV. Weil and Louis E. Swarts for the Mo-tion Picture Producers nnd Distributors of America,Prederic G. hlelcher for the National Association of BookPublishers; M. J. Flynn, representing the Alliecl Print-ing T~*ucles; nd George C. Lucas, representing thenewspaper and inaguziile publishers.

Thorvald Solberg presented a lucid statement of thet h e e international copyright conventions, those of 1886,1908, and 1928, and argued for adhesion to the Romeconvention of 1928. He offered three ameildments to thebill and the session closed with more than a score ofamendments offered for the committee's consideration.

(fenezplrmJ- The general revision bill was reported out from thesion Ba l l m t bSettate. committee in the Senate February 23, 1931, mith a re-p01-t by Senator Hehr t . (Report No. 1'732.) Th e textof tlie bill as reported with coinmittee anlendnlents isprinted on pagc 45 'of this report, follo~~edy Rel~ortKO. 1732. It came up on the floor of the Senate onFebruary 27 (F riday) and considerable debate ensued.It was again under debate when the Senate recessed at3 o'clock on the morning of March 3 (Tuesday). Butit hacl no further preseiltntion in the crowded hours atthe close of the sessioi~ nd Congress adjourned on March4 withont passing the bill.

On Blarch 2, \vhen it see~neddoubtful if the generalrevision bill coulcl be passed before the end of the session?a joint resolution was intl.ocluced in the Senate bySellator Davis. providing for the estcilsion of nll esist-ing copyrights ~vhich vould espire nleantimc to J:tnu:try1, 1936. But i t failed of adoption. The test of this1-esolution is priutecl on page 104 of this report.

COPYRIGHT IN CANAI IA

coa,,riaht cn I n Julie the Parliament n t Ottawa pnssecl an act toCanado. ainend the copgi-ight act of Cunnrla, \vIiic11 wns assenteclto :und became the law on June 11, 1931. As described' 031 (blnr. 2 ) . .Tol~lt ~-r noln tio ~~strndlag th e clnrfltion of copyright

protection In certnln cnsaa. 8. J. Re#. PO I . Inti-oduwl hy Mr. DavL nn dreferred to the Cumlllittec on Patents.


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REPORT OF T HE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS 11in the notes accompallying it, the bill was not intendedto revise generally the copyright act (R . S.C. 1927 C 32)but to amend that act only in so far as is necessary tobring Canacliail copyright legislation into conformitywith tlie provisions of the Rome convention and to in-sure that the new methods of dissemination and per-formance introduced by recent inventions shall be cov-ered by the act.

It provides, among other things, that " The Governorin Council inay take such action as inay be cleelned neces-sary to secure the adherence of Canada to the isevisedconvention for the protection of artistic and literaryjvorks which was signed a t Rome the second day of June,1928."One of the new provisions is in paragraph 10 whichregulates the conduct of those organizations that acquirecopyrights of musical or dramatico-musical works, or ofl>erfol-nling rights therein, and issue licenses for thel;crformance, in Canada, of such works. It further pro-\-ides that the fees, charges, and royalties shall be sub-ject to revision by the Governor in Council, in certaineventualities.l'rovision is made for the author's ri ght to restrainacts ~rejuc lici al o his llonor or reputation. Provisionis ma(le, too, for the perfornlnllr.~without infringementof any musical work by any churcll, collcgc, or schoolor by any religious, charitable, or fraternal organization,11-l~encver ucli pcrfonnnnce is given without privatepotit for religious, educational, or charitable purposes,including perforinance a t nny t~gricultu ral shibition orfair 11-liich is held under Dominion, Provincial, or mu-nici1)al authority.The term of copyright is the life of the author andfor a periotl of 50 years after his death, and the act toamend provides tlmt in the case of a work of joint author-bhip copyright sllall subsist clurillg the li fe of the authorla110 clies last, and for a term of 50 years after his death.

IXTERNATIONAL CO PY R I G H T

I t is now (July 27, 1931) reliably reported that the gE~~";;tnazfollowing countries have declared adherence to the con-vention of Ronle of 1928: Bulgaria, Canada, Finland,Great Britain, Inclia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Nor-way, Sweclen, S~vitzerlnnd, nd Yugoslavia.78077--312


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12 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTSThe convention creating an International Union for

the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, signeda t Berlin November 13, 1908; revised and signed a t RomeJune 2, 1928, provides (art. 28) :(1) The present convention shall be ratifled, and the 'atiflca-tioils shall be deposited a t Rome not later th an July 1, 1931.(2) I t will go into effect between the cou ntries of the unionwhich liave ratifled it one month afte r tha t date. However, if,

before th at dnte, i t ha s been ratified by a t least six countriesof the union it will go into efeect us between those countriesof t i le union one month after the deposit of the sixth ratiflcationhas been notified to them by the Government of the Swiss Con-federa t ion and, for the countr ies of the union which shall laterratify, one month after the notification of each such ratiflcation.(3) Countr ies that a re not wi thi n th e union may, unt il August

1, 1931, ente r the union, by means of adhesion, either to theconvention signed a t Berlin November 13, 1908, or to the presentconvention. After August 1, 1931, hey can adhere only to t h epresent convention.Meantime the adherence of the United States to the

International Copyright Union has been deferred by thefailure of passage in the last Congress of the copyrightbill which provided (among other things) for the entryof this country into the union.

No new copyright proclamations have. been issuedwithin the period covered by this report extending copy-right privileges in the United States to nationals ofother couiltries in exchange for protection accorded toAmerican authors in those countries.

Respectfully submitted.WILLIAM,. BROWN,Acting Register of copyrights .HERBERTUTNAM,Librarian of C o n g m .


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EXHIBITS

Total----.--.....------------------------312,E85.411 7,197.1Y)l ?&667.751 306,11130

lStatemertt of gross receipts, refunds, ne t receipts, and fees applied fo r pacalyear ending June SO, 1931

Balanca brought forward trom June 30,lmO.--..-.---.-...---------------------------------25, 127.56Net receipts July 1, 1930, toJune 30,1831:f ~ ~ 8 i P g-.-.--.-..--- g p g p g p g p g . -.g - gpgpg pgpgpgpgpgpgpgpg.pgpgpgpgpg .-g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g p g . p g 6312,86S. 1Less amount refunded.- 7,197. dB

305, dd7.75Total to be accounted&r.....--..........-------.-----.----------------------.---30,785.MCopyright lees applied July 1,1930, o June 30,1081---....-..--..-----------------308,414 0Balanm carried forward to July 1, leal:

Trust f u n k-..--.-.-.....-----------------------------------------8,68a82Unfinkhed bwlneas--.-.-.-.-.---.-------------------.---------.---.--..---'RQm m,mco

Month 'Qross eceipts) Rdunds .1830July.---....--..-.---------------------------- W8 .W

Net reeaipb

$27,850.6710,5526025,828.5325,567.08B,ssS.sS30,768.83

29,866.3822,1088524,648.W24,842~50

.Feesapplied

$25,W&Ul24,427.a25,8851 1027,915.8025,197.1027,280.70

27,188.30a,916.1020,MBO25,613.60

446.8031% 02534P

W . % J691. 98

690.98494.156l3.451 , .

~ u g u s t-..-.....-------------------------------a,98.80

22,637.62 24,eZasO4(848 / 25,m.m

September-..--..--.--------------------------October--.-..--.-.-----------------------------November-- -..- . - - - - ---- - -- - -- -- - -- - -Decemlxz . - . . . . - .. . - - - - - - - - - z -- - - - - - - - - - - -

1831January-..-..-.-.------------------------------February-.--.-. ..------ - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - -Maroh...-.-.--...----------------- - - - -------April.---.--...-------------------- -- ---:-- -

4 93.Y27,101.2824,%X.M

' 31,241.81

30,457.3722,Qol.W25,081.452e,@JXUMay..-.-...-...--.-----.-------.--------------J U ...............---------------------23,074 87 4S7.2526,4UI 4b9.m


17/109

1830July... -..-.-....AugustSeptembet ----....October.-....-...-.November.. . -.December..-.-..-..

1831January...-..-.FebruaryMarch--...----.April-----.. .--..-.*May.--.-.. --..Jane..-..-...--...

Total.. --.

Month

1830July. --. -_..-4ugust.;-....-...-.September.. --October- -. -.November.. ..-.--.December-..-1831January......-..-..February.. . ---..

March----... .AprU..-.-..-.--..May-.. .......June....-..

REBOBT OF THE REOfsTEB OF COPYBIOHFBEXHIBITB.-Record of applied fees

I ( -- - , IT , I fees ( appliedNurn F e e at Num-N ~ e - t $ l p i ( . ber -I 80.10 1 bU 1 F- I I


18/109

REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIOHTS 15

Statet?wnt of gross cash receipts, yearly fee s, number o f reghtratiOn8, eto., fo r34 flscaJ yewsYear Gross receip

$56,928.5058.207.006 5 , m . o o -63,887.5064,687.@I88,874.so72,628.0078,058.0080, lee. 0081,m. 082,387.5083,sl6.75104,844.95109,913.85ll6, ea . 05114980. o120, 219.25111,922 75ll2,m.85110,077.40los,352. 40113,118.00

128, 492.w134,510.15138,516.15149,287. 00162,544. 90180,808.65Ii8,307.P184, i27.80195,167.85308.m.w32;,828.90309,414 30


19/109

REPOBT OF THE BEOISTEB OF OOPYBIQHTBEXHIEIT D . .

Number of regtstratbne made durlng the last five fiscal yearsClass 1 Subject matter of copyright / 1926-27 1 1927-28 I 192S-29 I 1-30, / 198041

- - -B o o k

(a) l'rinted In th e United Sta*Books proper..----...-.-.------------Pamphlets, leaflets, etc..-....-.-.....Contributions to newspapers andperiodicals. -...-------- - -------

Total.. ...--.--..---.--- - ---( b ) Printed abroad in a foreign language.--(c) Englisb boob registered for ad interim

copyright--..---...------------------Total.. . -.-..-.--.-- - -- - - -.Perlodieals (numbers)-.---..-------------me-

Leetam, sermons, add- ------...--------Dramatic or dramatlco-mudcalcompositions-Musical compositions .-.--.calcalcalcalcalcalcalcalcalca lcalcalcalcalcalcalcalMaps-.----. -----.--------- -- - --- - -- --Works of art, models or designs....--......--Reproductions of worka ofart.....-....--...-Drawings or plastic wo rh of a scientlflc ortechnical character...-.--....--------------Photoglxphs.-.--.- ---- ------- ----- -- - -h i n t s and pictorial Ulustrntlons.-...-.--.---Motion-picture photoplay ~.--.-..---------Motion picturas not photoplays--......-PPPPRenewals-.. .-.....------ -- ----------------

Tow-. . .-,.... -- --.


20/109

REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRtOf lTSEXHIBIT

Number o f ar t ic les deposited d f t w he Zaet ftve fiscal veedrs

B o o k(a ) Printed in the United S t a t s b

Books (proper)-.-.-----.-------------Pamphlets, leaets, etc.-.--.--.......Contributions do newspapers andperiodicals.-....-.-----------------Total--...-.-.-..-.--------------(6) Printed abroad in a fore~gnanguage. - -

(c) English works registemd for ad ln&erLmcopyright...--------.-...-....-------Total----..----.-.----------------P i o d i

Lectures, ermons, etc...--.----.-._.---------Dramatic or d nun ati ~mu sia rl ompositions-Mus1,lrl compositions..-.-.------------------Maps........................................Works of art, models or designs--...-......--Reproductions of works of art.--.--.-----.---Drawings or plastic works of a srientiflc ortechnical obarwtar . . - - . - - - - t artar.t artartartartartartartartartartartarPhotoETaphs.-.-.--.---------------------Prints and pictorla1Illustrations.-------------Motion-picture photop lays...--.-.----- - - -Motion pictures not photoplaya..-....-.-----

Total---.-..----------------------i

21.bW85,72328,232--16,6363,7771.W121,68881,828

aQ8,11736,67341962, bW0

14,87921.1714 YU1,010

288,883

80,80201,17080,886114,8584,105l,iM

121,08794,723

3895,15637,8545,7243,152

0

&m15,41419,8522 5621,838

510,209


21/109

ADDENDA

I. An act amending the Statut es of the United S t a h to provide forcopyright registration of designs (H . R. 11852), in the SenateFebruary 14, 1931, with amendments- - - --- - - - - --,- - - - - - - - - -11. Senate report No. 1627 to accompany H. R. 11852 (design copy-right) - - - - - - - - --,- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Senate report No. 1627, pa rt 2, minority views to accoinpanyH. R. 1 1 8 5 2 - - - - - , - - - . . - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - -111. A bill to amend sections 23, 36 and 28 of the act entitled "An act to

amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright," approvedMarch 4, 1909, and for other purposes (S. 5687) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -IV. An ac t to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright andto permit the United Sta tes to enter the Convention of Berne forthe Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (H . R. 12549)in the Senate February 23, 1931, with amendments- - - - - - - - - -_-- -V. Senate report No. 1732 to accompany H. R. 12549 - - - - - - - - - - - - -VI. Jo int resolution extending the durat ion of copyright protection incertain case8 (S. . Rea. 264),----------,--,-----------18


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[7 lst Cong., 3d sess. H. R. 11852. Report No. 1627. In the Senate ofthe United States. July 8, 10301

[NOTE: he text included between black brackets is struck out and thematter in itnlics is added.]AN ACT Amending the Statutes of the United States to provide

for copyright registration of designaBe i t enwted by the Xenate a d a w e of R ep re se d -tives of th e Un ited Sta tes of America: in Congress ae-

sendbd, That any person who is a citizen of or domi-ciled in the United States, or who is a citizen or subjectof a foreign State or nation with which the United Statesshall have established reciprocal copyright relations, andwho is the author of any design as hereinafter defined,or the legal representative or assignee of the author ofsuch a design, may secure copyright therein upon com-pliance with the provisions of this act.

Within the meaning of this act-(a) An author is one who originates a design andin so doing contributes intellectual or artistic effort tothe composition thereof.(b) [A design is a pattern applied to, or a shape orform of, a manufactured product which is not of itselfu work of a rt , and shall include dies, molds, or devicesby] A design is a pattern applied to, or a shape or fmof , any manu fmtmed prodrum iw h d e d ill m y ~ ? 4 ~ 8 8enumerated in the f oZ20~2~1tgawzqrapJi, whic h ia not ofitself a work of art, and shaU i w a dies, m d d 8 , ord e h d by which such a pattern, shape, or form, maybe produced, original in its application to or embodimentin such manufactured product, by reason of a n artisticor intellectual effort, and which produces an artistic orornamental effect or decoration, but shall not includepatterns or shapes or forms which have merely a func-tional or mechanical purpose.( c ) Th e manufactured products $0 which th& act a h aUapply are the foZlowing:(1 ) Textiles, lace, and embroideria of aU kh&,w h t b h &signs are wowen into m applied to tire

10


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20 REPORT OF THE REOISTER OF COPYRIQHTB

swrfaces of, or incorporated into the substame or fiberof the fabric;( d ) Furniture;(3) Lamps and lighting +tree ;(4) Shoes or o t h r footwem;(6) JeweZry or articles manufactured from goZd, sil-ver, p l a t i n q or other precious snetals.Sm. 2. The owner of a design copyright shal l have,within all the territory which is under the jurisdictionand control of the United States, for the periods andsubject to the limitstiow hereinafter prescribed, theright to exclude others from selling or distributingmanufactured products which embody or contain copies

of or colorable imitations made by copying the copy-righted design or any characteristic original featurethereof, if such manufactured products are in the sameclass as, or are similar to, the product to which the copy-righted design has been applied or in which it has beenembodied.SEC.3. AS prerequisites to copyright protection underthis act the author or his legal representative or hisassignee must (1) actually cause the design to be appliedto or embodied in the manufactured product; (2 ) marksuch product in the manner specified in section 5 of thisact ; (3) introduce such product to the public in territo ryunder the jurisdiction and control of the United States,by selling it or offering it for sale; and (4) within sixcalendar montl~sof the time when such manufacturedprcduct was first actually so introduced to the public,file an application in the copyright office in the formprescribed under authority of section 21 of this act, andin such application state under oath (a) that he is theauthor of the design fo r which he solicits registrstion or(b) that he is the assignee or legal representative ofsuch author and verily believes the author named in theapplication to be the orig inator of such design. Suchapp lic3ion shall include the prescribed number of copiesof a photograph or other identifying representation ofthe design as applied to or embodied in the said manu-factnred product and shall give the date when suchmanufactnred product was so introduced to the public;and copyright shall be secured upon and from the dateof such introduction of t he manufactured product to thepublic, subject to the provisions of this act: P r o v W ,Itowevep, That such application is filed within six col-


24/109

endar nlonths of any sale in any country of such manu-factured product and of any puljlication not under co@y-right protection in any country of such design, if suchsale or such publication is made by or with the consentof the author, his assignee, or legal representative.SEC. . Upon each entry of a claim for copyright inany design made subject matter of copyright by this act,the person recorded as the claimant of copyright shallbeentitled to a certificate of registration under the seal ofthe copyright o h , whicli shall state the name, citizen-ship, and address of the author of the design and of theowner of the copyright in such desi,gn, if other th an theauthor; the name or designation of the class of manu-factured product in which the design has been embodiedor to which it has been applied; he da te when the appli-

cation for registration was filed in the copyright office;the date when cop;yright was secured as provided in sec-tion 3 of this act; and such msrks as to ciass designationand en try number as shall fully identify the entry of th eclaim of copyright. Said certificate shall be prima facieevideilce of the facts stated therein. A duplicate certifi-cate under the seal of the copyright office shall be sup-plied to ally person reqi~estinghe same upon paymentof th e fee. When a design actually embodied in or ap-plied to one manufactured product is in substantiallythe same form to be embodied in or applied to a set ofmanufactured products of the same general character or-dinarily on sale together or intended tobe used together,a single application for registration and one certitkataof registration shall suffice.SEC. . It shall be the duty of the owner of a designin ~vhicli opyright is secured under th is act or his licenseeto give notice to the pubiic t.hat the design is protectedunder this act by affixing to the manufactured productthe mark "Design copyrighted" and by adding theretowith reasonable promptness after registration the num-ber of the registration entry. When the nature' of theproduct will not permit the affixing of these marks infull it shall be sufficient to use the abbreviation UD.copr." or the letter "D " inclosed within a circle, thus@ with or witllollt the registration number.lTThen such abbreviation or symbol is used, or whenthe product itself will not permit the affixing of any ofthese marks, it shall be sufficient and necessary to attacha label or tag to the product or to the package or cover


25/109

22 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYBIOBTBcontaining the product in which the design is eil~bodiedor to which it is applied, coiitaining the name of themanufactured product and plainly marked with the .words "Design copyrighted," to which must be addedwith reasonable promptness after registration, the regis-tration number.

I n the case of any manufactured procluct in which thedesign is repeated, such as [wall paper o r1 textiles, onemarking on the manufactured product embodying orcontaining the design, shall suffice.

I n any action or suit for infringement by a party fail-ing to comply with the above-stated provisio& of thissection no recovery shall be adjudged the plaintiff andno injunction shall be granted except on proof that thefailure to mark mas merely occasional and inadvertent:Provided, however, That there shall be no recoveryagainst an innocent infringer who has been inisled byihe omission of the notice, and in such case no permanentinjunction shall be had unless the copyright owner shallreimburse to the innocent infringer his reasonable outlayinnocently incurred, if the court, in its discretion, shallso direct.SEC. . Copyright secured under this act shall initiallyendure for a term of. two years f rom the first sale oroffer for sale of the illanufactured product to which thedesign is applied or in which it i s embodied. At anytime before the expiration of the two-year term an ex-tension of the copyrigllt may be registered for a furtherperiod of eighteen years to secure a total period of pro-tection of twenty years upon filing an application forsuch extension and paying the fees prescribed in section22 of this act.SEC. . Every copyright secured under the provisionsof this act, or any interest therein, shall be assignable inlaw by an instrument in writing; and the copyrightowner may, in like manner, gr ant and convey an exclusiveright uhder such copyright for the whole or any p ar t ofthe United States.

Such assignment, grant, or conveyance shall be voidas against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee fora valuable consideration, without notice, unless it is re-corded in the copyright office within three calendarmonths after its execution in the United States, orwithin six calendar months after its execution withoutthe limits of the United States, or prior to such sltbss-


26/109


27/109

strued as including allyoile \~ - l ~ onduces or :~c.ts n co1.l~-sion with a manufacturer to malre, or nil iinporter toimport, a colorable inlitation or a.n unantliorizecl copyof a copyrightecl clesign, but pnrchnsing or giving anorder for purchase in the ordinary course of busillessshall not in itself be constrned as constitnting suchincluceinent or collusioll : Provided, hozcjez)er,Thil t to ob-tain the benefit of this esempt.ion a prompt and fulldisclosure must be ninde to the copyright o~~-iit~rp011request as to the source and all pnrticu!~1*sof the ~ I I Y -chnse of the goods, nnd the evidence thereof nlnst begiven if requested in a ny suit or nction ng;~inst helllanufacturer or importer.SEC.9. The following shall not be held inf~ingingacts:(a) Repairing manufnct.urec1 nrticles pl:otcct.cc'( li~li ler

this act, or making or selling parts of mnnnfnctured a r-ticles, whether indiviclun!ly protoctecl or nci;, for us. asrepair parts;E(1)) Making and/or illustrnting or selling pntterilsfor clressmaking, or malting n gnrment from sllcll a pat-tern or emboclying a copprightecl design for the incli-cidual use of the rnaker or a member of the fenlily of themaker, or having such a gannent made by nn inclividuslenlployee for the use.of the employer or a member ofthe family of the employer;]

(Eelcab) Illustrating designs by pictorial represellin-tion, or publicly distributing or exhibiting snch ill~stra-tions or pictorinl representations of designs;

(Ed&) Making any reproduction, copy, nse, s ! !~ e , rpublic distribution of any design copyrighted ilnder thisact in any motion picture, and in whntever forin usedi11 connection with the ndverti~emen~,listri bution, or saleor other disposition of motion pictures :P?.ovicZed, how-ever, That none of t he acts specified in this section shallaffect the force or validity of any copyriglit in any desigi,under this act.Sac. 10. Anyone who shall infringe ally copyriglltocl

design shall be liable--(a ) To an injunction restraining such inf ringoment;(b ) T o account for and pay th e profits nnd clalnagasresulting from the infringement, which in the discretion

of t he court may be trebled.


28/109

REPORT OF THE RMfIISTER OF COPYBMHZ'S 25The court may dispense with an accounting-(1) I n cases where the plaintiff may so request, orwhere from the record it is apparent to the court that

an accounting would not find damages or profits to ex-ceed $2,500 where defendant is a manufacturer or ha-porter and $100 in any other case. I n any such cwwhere the defendant is a manufacturer or importer, Ihedefendant shall be held liable to pay to the plaintiff notless than $2,500, and in any other such case the defendantshall be held liable to pay the plaintiff not less than$100, as conlpensation and not as a penalty.

(2) I n cases where the copying complained of maswitllout knowledge or notice of the copyright.The court may order to be delivered up and destroyedor otherwise disposed of, ns shall be just as betweenIhe parties, nll infringing articles, products, or parts,and all dies, models, and devices useful only in produc-ing the inflinging article or product, and all labels,pints, or advertising matter relating to the infringingarticle or product.

Ssc. 11. No relief shall be granted where an infringe-11ie11t has continuecl with the knoi~ledgeof the ownerof the copyriqllt for a period of two years prior io thecomli~cncement of the suit or action; a~:d in no eventeh:lll there be n recorery oil j) lr f~ ts lV iimages for actsof inf ~-ingcment omlnittetl more tlinli thrcc years priorto tllc commenccmcnt of the sni t or action.Stx. 12. When ~rgistra tionins beell niade in the copg-1.ig11lofice of an)- clesitr~l s provided in this act. 13-ritten,9priatecl, or pliotographlc copies of any papers, dmwin g~ ,01. l)l~otopmphs elating to such cleaign preserved in thecopyrigllt ofice shall be given to any person makingnpl'liciltion therefo~. ncl paying the fees required by thisact. :tn:i s t ~ c l ~ol~ics1~1icn uthenticated by the seal ofthc copyright oflicc shall be eviclence of the same forceancl cirect as originals.SIX.18. 111an actioi~ r suit for infringement of copy-right in a design registered ~inderhis nct there shall bea ~resiun~l~tionf origin:tlity i l l tlie registered designanrl of v:lliclity in tho registration thereof: and a pre-s~lnlptio~lf col)ging may in tho cliscretion of the cortrtbe 11eld to arise froill substankial rese~nblance o theregistered design in defenclnnt's design.


29/109

SEC. 14. The distr ict and territorial courk of theUnited States and its insular possessions, including thecourts of first instance of the Philippine Islands, thedistrict court of the Canal Zone, and the Supreme Courtof the Dist rict of Columbia, shal l have original jurisdic-tion, and the Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United'States, the Court of Appeals of the District of Colum-bia, and the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islandsshall have appellate jurisdiction of proceedings respect-ing designs protected under the provisions of this act.

SEO. 15. Writ s of certiorari may be granted by theSupreme Court of the United States for the review ofcases arising under this act in the same manner as pro-vided in the Judicial Code as amended by the act of Feb-ruary 13, 1925.

SEC. 16. Afte r adjudication and entry of a final decreeby any court in any action brought under this ad , anyof the parties thereto may, upon payment of the legalfees, have the clerk of the cou1.t prepare a certified copyor copies of such decree, or of the record, or any partthereof, and forward the same to any of the designatedcourts of the United States, and any such court to whichsuch copy or copies may be forwarded under the pro-visions of this section shall forthwith make the same apart of its record; and any such record, judgment, ordecree may thereafter be made, as f ar as applicable, thebasis of an application to that court for injunction orother relief; and in the preparation of such copies theprinted copies of the record of either par ty on file withthe clerk may be used without charge other than for thecertificate. When the necessary printed copies are noton file with the clerk either party may file copies whichshall be used for the purpose, and in such cases the clerk$hall be entitled t o charge a reasonable fee for comparingsuch copies with the original record before certificationn r ~d or certifying the same.

SEC. 17. I f the copyright in a design shall have beenadjudged invalid and a judgment or decree shall havebeen entered for the defendant, the clerk shall forwardn certified copy of such judgment or decree to the registerof copyrights, who shall forthwith make the same apart of the records of the copyright office.SEC.18. (a) Any person who shall register a designunder this act, knowing or having reason to know thatthe design is not an original work of authorship of theperson nnmed as author in the application for registra-


30/109

tion, or knowing or having reason to know that theownership of the copyright therein is falsely stated ;hthe application for registration, shall be guilty of a mis-demeanor punishable by a fine of [$2,500] $1,000, orsuch part thereof as the court may determine.

(b) Any person who shall bring an action or suit forinfringement of a design alleged to be protected underthis act, and known by the plaintiff to be not an originalwork of authorship of the person alleged to be theauthor of said design, shall, upon due showing of suchknowledge, be liable in the sum of [$2,500] $1,000, orsuch part thereof as the court may determine, as com-pensation to the defendant to be charged against theplaintiff and paid to the defendant in addition to thecustomary costs.(c) Any person who shall, because of notice given un-der section 8 of this act by the owner of a copyrightsecured under this act, or by his licensee, discontinue the~urc hase , ale, or distribution of products alleged by suchowner or licensee to be an infringement of such copy-right, shall recover from such owner and/or licenseesuch damages as he shall have sustained by reason ofcompliance with such notice, if such owner or licenseeknew, or had reason to know, that the design alleged t obe protected under this act was not an original work ofauthorship of the person alleged to be the author ofsaid design.(d) Any person who, with frauduknt intent, marksone or more manufactured products which are not pro-tected by design copyright, so as falsely to indicate thatthey are so protected, shall be gui lty of a misdemeanorand shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500.SEC. 9. Nothing in this act shall be construed to im -pair, limit, or annul the right of an author of a design,or the legal representative or assignee of such author,prior to the copyrighting of such design under thi s act,to prevent unauthorized application or embodiment ofsuch design or any characteristic original feature them-of,'to or in any manufactured product, and the eiposurefor sale or public distribution, or the sale or public dis-

tribution of such manufactured product, as a result ofthe confidential disclosure of such design, and to recoverthe profits and damages arising therefrom by suit inequity or action at law; and the marking upon a drawing7 8 0 7 7 4 1 - 4


31/109

28 REPOBT OF THE BEOIBTZB OF QOPYRIQHTEor other representation of such design of the name of thoauthor and the words "design copyright reserved" ishereby authorized as reserving the right to have the de-sign copyrighted under this act as and when applied toor embodied in a manufactured product and introduced -to the public pursuant to this act.SEC. 0. Registration under this act shall not consti-tute any waiver or abandonment of any trade-markrights in the design registered.SEC.1. The register of copyr ight. shall be authorized,[for convenience of copyright office administration, todetermine and designate the different classes of manu-factured products under which registration may bemade, and,] subject to approval by the Librarian of Con-gress, to make rules and regulations for [such] registra-tion under this act, and for the form of the required cer-tificate 1 Provided, ? w w e r , That such classificatio~shall not be held to limit or extend the rights of the authorcf the design or his legal representative or assignee].SEC. 2. The register of copyrights shall receive, andthe persons to whom the services designated in this actare rendered, shall pay the following fees: (1) For theregistration for the first term of two years under thisact, $3; (2) for the registration of the extension of theperiod of protection t o twenty years, as provided herein,$20; and the payment of the said fees shall include, ineach case, the certificate provided h r n this act; (3) fo ra duplicate certificate of any registration made, $1; (4)for recording any document in the copyright office, asprovided in section 7 of this act, or for furnishing certi-fied copies of any such document, $1 for each copyrightoffice record-book page or fraction thereof up to fivepages, and 50 cents for each such page or fraction there-of beyond five pages; (5) for copies of any registrationmade, or of drawings or photographs or other identify-ing reproductions filed in relation to any design regis-tered, and for comparing such copies with the originalsbefore certification, a reasonable fee and 50 cents addi-tional for certification of each such copy under seal 'ofthe copyright office.[SEC. 3. All designs registered for the first term oftwo years shall be listed in the Catalogue of CopyrightEntries prepared and printed under the provisions ofthe act of March 4, 1909, and shall be further identifiedby a representation of the design, and each extension


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REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS

registration sha ll be listed in said catalogue. T he peri-odic issues of said catalogue m ay be subscribed fo r uponapplication to th e Superinte ndent of Pub lic Documents,a t a pr ice to be determined by the register of copyrightsfor each part of the catalogue, not exceeding $10 forthe complete Catalogue of Copyright Entries providedby the act approved March 4, 1909, or $10 f o r th e cats-l o p e of designs registered under this ad. The Cata-logue of Copyright En tries fa r designs shall be admit tedin an y court as prima facie evidence of t he facts thereinstated as regards any copyright registration for a designmade und er the provisions of thi s ad.] *Sec. $3. Th e reg is ter of c0pyr igh . t~ hd l fu l l y i n d mall re@ tra twm and assignments of design copyPiyht8under this act . I n addition to the catalogues providedfor under th e act entitled "An& t o a m n d am? con-solidate the acts respecting copyrigh.t.t," approved Y m c h4,1909, as amende d, the register of cop yrig hts shcsll printand distm3u te separate &d ogu es of aU de+n copyrightentries, which shaU inclde representations of w h e-signs for pwpo ses of i&enti@atwn a d aU extension~.egistration s f su ch desigm. Su ch separate catalogoless h d 6 s of t h e same g e d h am te r , 4 h& beprinted a d &trib&d a t t he s m imes and in t h e s a mmrvner, aa t he ca ta logum provided for under m h ctof March 4, 1909, as am en ded , and m y e s z l b s m 3 dfor u po n application to the Superintend& of PzlblicDoouments, at a price t o be detemnimd by the registero f c o p p e g M s . T h e current catalogues of design copy-right entries and the indexes in connect ion themwithshall be admitted in any court as prhm facie euidenee ofthe facts ther ein stated as r eg ar ds a n y c op y ri gh t ~ e p 2 -trat ion for a design n u d e zunder the prosisiorrs o$ t hbact.SEC.4. There is hereby authorized t o be approp riated,cut of a ny money in th e Treasury not otherwise appro-priated, for clerical services, office rental and equipment,stationery a nd supplies, for carrying into effect this actfo r th e fiscal ye ar e nd ing J u n e 30, 1931, $100,000, o r so.much thereof as may be necessary, the same to be avail-able immediately upon the approval of this act, andthereafter such sums as Congress may deem necesary,to be expended by th e Lib raria n of Congress.SEC.5. Th e Lib rar ian of Congress sKall annua lly sub-mit estimates in detail for all expenses of carrying this.


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act into effect, and he is hereby authorized to appointsuch subordinate assistants to the register of copyrightsas shal l be necessary f or t he prom pt and efficient execu-tion of the work involved.CSEC.26. The following sections of the United states'Revised Statutes are hereby repealed: Section 4929, asamended by the act of May 9, 1902; sections 4930 and4931; nd section 4934, as amended by the acts of Febru-ary 18,1922, and F ebruary 14, 1927, is furth er amendedby striking out the words "except in design cases"~vhere ver hey appear, and also by striking out thefollowing words : " I n design cases: For three years andsix months, $10; fo r seven years, $15; for fourteen years,

$30": Provided, however, That design patents issuedund er th e sections herein repealed shall have ful l forceand effect as if said sections were still in effect: Andprovided further, That notwithstanding the six months'limitations in section 3 of this act, an applicant whohas duly filed in the Patent Office an application for adesign patent, and whose application has not becomeabandoned w hen th is act goes into effect, or his assignsand legal representatives may within six inoilths afterthis act goes into effect elect either to demand a designpatent which may be granted him and have ful l formand effect as if the section herein repealed were still ineffect, or to abandon said application f or a design patentand secure copyright protection under this act by com-plying with the provisions of this act, so far as appli-cable, and upon payment of the fee or fees prescribed insection 21 of this act, filing an application for registra-tion of said design under this act, or two or moreapplications in different classes, if the design as disclosedin said application is entitled to registration in such dif-ferent classes, the initial term of such copyright protec-tion under this act to commence with the sale or offerfor sale of manufactured products to which the designhas been applied o r in which it is embodied, marked inth e mann er specified in section 5 of th is act. No designcopyright under the provisions of this act shall be validto an author or to th e legal representative o r assignee ofsuch autho r to whom shal l have been issued a design pat-bent in t his c ountry fo r the same design.]Set. Q6. D e& gn p aten to f o r de8ign.n f o r ~ u f a c h m dproduct8 spm'jfkd in a r u b d i h ( c) of oection 1 of thiu

.ad o b t a i n d p i o r to t b fediva data of t h k act u d r


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sections 4999, 4930, 4.981, and 49.94 of the Revised Stat-utes, as amended , sMZ remain in f l l l l Z force and effect,but no copyright may be seared under th i s mt in a nydesign for whi ch a patent has been so obtained. O n am ?after tice effective date of this ad, design patent m aybe obtained for an y design for m y euch manu fac twedproduct, but such patent shaU eutomaticaUy temnjnate1~po-nhe application of such d m ' g n t o o r i ts embodinun.6i n such manufactured product in the nmnn er provided inthils act, but nothing in thh section shall be conatmud toprevent the securing of copyright wndm t h h mi subse-quent to G U C ~ ern ina tio n of such de&gn patent.SEC. 7. This act shall go into effect on [January3

Jd y 1, 1931, and may be cited as the design copyright.act of 1931.

171st Cong., ad seas. Senate Report No. 16971COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS

(February 14,1931.-Ordered to be printed)Mr. Hebert, from the Committee on Patents, submitted

the following report to accompany H. R. 11852:The Committee on Patents, to which was referredH. R. 11852, to provide copyright registrat ion of designs,having had the same under consideration, reports the,bill to the Senate with the following amendments andrecommends that the same do pass.

Section 1 (b) to be amended to read as follows:A design is a pattern applied to, or a shape or form of any

manufactured product included in any class enumerated in thefollon-ing paragraph, which is not of itself a work of art , andfihall include dl@, molds, or devicea by.

Subsection 1 (c) to be added, enumerating the productscovered as follows:

(c) The manufactured products to which this act shall applyare the following :1.Textiles, lace and embroideries of all kinds, whether the

designs are woven into or applied to the surface of, or incor-porated into the substance or Abers of the fabric.

2. Furniture.3. Lamps and lighting llxtnrea.4. Shoes or ctther footwear.


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5. Jewelry or ar t ic les manu facturea from gold, s i lver , p lat inum,tor other precious metala.

Section 5, line 25, on page 5 of the bill, the words.LL mall paper " o be deleted.

Section 9 be amended by striking out the whole 03-subsection (b).Section 18 be amended, in subsection (a) line 10, andsubsection (b) line 17, by substitution of a penalty of$1,000 in lieu of penalty of $2,500. *Section 21, delete lines 8,9, and 10 to word " sub," alsoword " uch " n line 12. I n line 12 after the word " regis-tration," add the words " under this act." Delete line 13beginning with word "Provided ",and lines 14, 15, and16, so that section 21, as amended, will read as follows:S m . 21. Th e regis ter of copyrights shal l be authorized, sub-jec t to approval by the Librar ian of Congress , to make rules an dregu la t ions fo r reg i s t ra t ion unde r th i s a c t , and fo r the fo rm ofthe requ ired certificate.

Section 23 to be amended so as to rend as follows:SEC. 23. T he reg i s t e r o f copyr igh ts s ha l l fu l ly index a l l r e g i st ra t ions a nd nss ignments of des ign copyrights under t his ac t . Inadd i t ion to the ca ta logues p rov ided fo r unde r the ac t en t i t l ed"An act to am end an d consol idate the a c t respect ing copyright ,"approved March 4, 1909, a s amended, the regis ter of copyrightsshal l pr in t an d dis t r ibute se parn te ca ta logues of a l l des ign copy-right entr ies . which sh al l inc lude representa tions of such des ignsfor purposes of ident i f ica t ion and a l l extens ion regis t ra t ions of

such des igns. Such sepa ra te ca ta logues shal l be of th e sam egene ra l cha rac te r , and s ha l l be p r i n t e d a n d d i s t r i b u t e d a t t h e .same t ime nnd in the same manner, as the ca ta logues providedfor under such ac t of March 4,1009, s amended, and niay be sub-scribed for upon appl ica t ion to the Superintendent of Publ icDocuments , a t a price to be determined by t he regis ter of copy-rights . The curre nt ca ta logues of des ign copyright entr ies andth e indexes in connect ion therewith shal l be admit ted in any cour tas prima f ac ie evidellce of the fac ts there in s ta ted a s regards an ycopyright regis t ra t ion for a des lgn made under the provis ions ofthis act."

Section 26 to be amended so as to read as follows:SEC. 26. Des ign pa ten t s fo r de s igns fo r m anufac tu red p roduc t sspecified in subdivision (c) of section 1 f th is ac t obta ined prior

to th e effec tive da te of this ac t un der sec t ions 4929, 4930, 4931,a n d 4934 of the Revised Sta tutes , a s amended, shal l remain inful l force and effec t , but no copyright may be secured under thisac t in any des ign fo r wh ich a patent has been so obta ined. Ona n d after th e effec tive dat e of this ac t , a design patent ma y beobta ined for any des ign for any such manufactured product , butsuch patent shal l automatica l ly terminate upon the nppl ica t ioa of


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BBPOBT OF THE RlWIS'l'EB OF a PYRMETS 33such design to or its embodiment in such manufactured productin the manner provided in th is act , but noth ing in th is sectionshall be construed to prevent the securing of copyright under thisact subsequent to such termination of such design patent .

Section 27 to be amended so as to make the effectivedate July 1,1931, instead of January 1,1931.

GQNSTITIITIONAL PROVISION APPJJJCDParagraph 8 of section 8 of the Constitution provides:To promote th e progress of science and u seful a r t s by securingfor limited t imes to aut hors and inventors th e exclusive r ight totheir respective writings and discoveries.I n pursuance of said provision Congress established

certain instrumentalities to effectuate these purposes, in-cluding the Patent Office and the Bureau of Copyright,and has from time to time enacted 1eFdation to protectthe productions of writers, musicians, artists, andinventors.

Under the copyright act approved March 4, 1909,works of art and models or designs for works of a rt wsreenumerated and under this section there have been copy-righted al l kinds of original designs, though no provisionwas made for the protection of reproductions of designswhen applied to manufactured produck

Under the patent law of 1887 (R. S. title X-1) asamended May 9, 1902 (R. S. title L X , ecs. 4929, 4930,4931, and 4933), designs for commercial reproduction inmanufactures are enumerated. Said sections read asfollows:SEC. 929. Any person who has invented any new, original, ando rn an ~en ta l design for an ar t icle of manufacture, not known orused by others in this country before his invention thereof, andnot patented or described In an y p r in ted p u b licat io n in t h h o rany foreign country before his invention thereof, or more thant w o r e a m p r i o r to his applicat ion , an d not in public use or onsale in th is cou ntry for more than tw o years pr ior t o h is applica-t ion, unless the sam e is proved t o have been abandoned, may,upon payment of the fees required by law and o ther due pro-ceedings had, t he sam e a s in cases of invention or discoverieacovered by section forty-eight hundred and eighty-six, obtain apatent therefor .SEC.4930. The commissioner may dispense with models of de-

signs when th e design can be suflkiently represented by drawl-or photographs.SEC. 4931. Patents for designs may be g ran ted fo r th e termof th ree years a nd s ix months, or fo r seven years , or fo r four teenyears , as the applicant may, n his application, el&.


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34 REPORT OF THE REBISTEB OF COPYBIOHTBSEC. 4933. All th e regulations and provisions which apply to

obtaining or protecting patents for inventions or discoveries notinconsistent with th e provisions of th is titl e shal l apply to patentsfor designs

Act of February 4,1887:Be Ct enacted, etc., That hereafter, during the term of letters

patent for a design, it sha ll be unlawful for any person othertha n th e owner of said let ter s patent, without t he license of suchowner, to apply th e design secured by such letters patent, or an ycolorable imitation thereof, to any article of manufacture for thepurpose of sale, or t o sell or expose fo r sale an y artic le of manu-factur e to which such design or colorable imitation shall, withoutthe license of the owner, ha ve been applied, knowing th at t he samehas been so applied. Any person violating th e provisions, or eithe rof them, of thi s section, shal l be liable in the amount of two hun-dred and fifty dollars; and in case the total profit made by himfrom the manufacture, or sale, a s aforesaid, of the article o r arti-cles to which the design, or colorable imitation thereof, has beenapplied, exceeds the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, he shallbe further liable for the excess of such profit over and above thesum of two hundred and fifty dollars; and the full amount ofsuch liability may be recovered by t he owner of t he let ters patent.to his own use, in any circuit court of the United States havingjudsdiction of the parties. either by action a t law or upon a billin equity for a n injunction to restr ain such infringement.

SEC. 2. That nothing in this act contained shall prevent, lessen,impeach, or avoid a ny remedy a t la w or in equity which an yowner of letters patent for a design, aggrieved by the infringelnent of the same, might have had if thi s ac t had not been pas& ;but such owner shall not twice recover the profit made from theinfringement.

By a construction placed upon said sections it is heldthat an original design may be copyrighted, but that theapplication thereof to a manufactured product has to bepatented. It foIlows that the author of a design is pro-tected at the present time under the provisions of the pat-ent law, so Iong as his design is not reproduced in a manu-factured article. The purpose of this bill is to affordprotection by copyright of designs that are applied tocertain manufactured products, and to transfer thesupervision of these copyrights from the Patent Office tothe Copyright Office.

The reasons for this change become apparent upon ananalysis of the functions of patents and of copyrightsrespectively. A copyright is precisely what its nameindicates, that is, a right to prohibit the making of acopy of an original design by any other person than


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BEYOET O F THE BEOXTEB OP COPYRIOHTP) 35.the author of it , and in order to prohibit the produc-tion of a design which is copyrighted, i t must appeqgthat the alleged infringement is a copy.

On the other hand, a patent applies to inventions andcreations of new forms and principles not previouslyin use. While there may be a marked degree of artistiomerit and originality of treatment in design, there bvery little which can be designated as invention, andwhat is sought to be protected in the case of designs isnot invention, but rather the prohibition of the copyingof another person's artistic production embodying sym-bols and forms which may appear in everyday life, butwhich in no case apply to principles or instrumentalities.

DELAYS I N SECTJRINQ PA'IXNTSCopyright issues immediately, whereas a p a M , ofnecessity, requires search to determine whether the prin-

ciple embodied in the invention has been covered in someother form or class. As a result of this fundamentaldifference, the securing of a patent requires a very con-siderable lapse of time for it s issuance, often a year ormore. This is not necessary and should not be r e q u i din the case of copyrighting of designs.

It is to be noted that under the practice which nowobtains in the Patent Office, originality of design hasnot infrequently been denied because of the lack of in-ventive features, even in those cases where there is noquestion as to the merit and originality of the design it-self or of its application.

Moreover, the expense incident to procuring a patenthas been prohibitive in the case of many articles ofmanufacture, where some special design has been incor-porated therein. This is particularly true of such prod-ucts, the demand for which ie relatively brief, such aathose which have relation to fashion and seasonal use.

The officialsof the Patent Office and of the CopyrightOffice are agreed that the present patent law is a deadletter so fa r as a very large number of manufacturedproducts are concerned, even though such products areentitled to protection, and that very likely such produdswould be protected if the law were made more practicaiin its application.

The necessity for such cr change as is embodied in thepresent bill is amply borne out by the testimony pre


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BEPOBT OF THE BEaISTEB OF.COPYRIGHT8

sented at th e hearings before committees of both t.heHouse and the Senate.

SPREAD OF DESIGN PIRACYIt was disclosed at these hearings that many industries

in the country sufl'er grievously from the evils of whathas come to be known as design piracy, and these evilshave increased tremendously within the past year, espe-cially since the ruling of the courts in the case of CheneyBrothers v. The Doris Silk Company, which was heard inthe United Stat es Circuit Court of Appeals for the Scc-ond Circuit, and in which an appeal for review to theSupreme Court was refused. I n that case the court heldth at no relief was to be had against the copying oforiginal designs under existing law, and suggested theadvisability of securing an amendment to the copyrightlaw to meet the difficulty. While your committee wasvery much impressed by the evils that exist in the fieldof industry, so fa r as the piracy and copying of designsis concerned, in some instances so grave as to threatenthe very existence of certain industries, they feel th atthe pending bill as enacted by the House of Representa-tives, and which covers practically al l fields of act ivityin manufacture, might in practice work hardships whichcan not be foreseen, and might also be difficult of admin-istrat ion; therefore the operation of the provisions ofthe bill has been limited to five general lines of industrywhich are specifically enumerated in section 1 (c).

EXPLANA'ITON O F AMENDMENTS

I n line 25, section 6, page 5 of the bill, the words "wallpapern have been deleted, since wall paper is not in-cluded within the provisions of the bill under the com-mittee's amendment to section 1 (c).

The elimination of subsection (b) of section 9 is madsnecessary because of the limitation in the application ofthe provisions of the bill to certain industries. I n thelight of this limitation, said subsection is unnecessaryfor the reason that patterns, dresses, and garments towhich it applies are not included in the list of manufw-tured articles to which the bill will apply.

The penalty provided in paragraphs ( a ) and (b) ofsection 18 has been reduced from a minimum of $2,500


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to a minimum of $1,Q00, this latter sum being deemedsufficient to make the law effective.Section 21 is amended so as to read as follows:SEO.2l . The register of copyrights shall be authorized, subject

to approval by the Librarian of Congress, to make rules an dregulations for registrotlon under th is act and for the form ofthe required certificate.

The amendment to said section 21 is made necessarybecause of the limited application of the bill as providedin the amendment to section 1 (c) thereof.

Section 23 has been amended to read as follows:Sm, 23. The reglster of copyrights shal l fully index al l regis-tratio ns and assignments of design copyrights under this act. I n

odditlon to the catalogues provided for under the act entitled"An a ct to amend and consolidate the act s respecting copyright,"approved March 4, 1909, as amended, th e register of copyrightsshall print and dis tribute separate catalogues of all design copy-right entries, which shall include representations of such designsfor purposes of identification and al l extension registratio- ofsuch designs. Such separate catalogues shall be of the samegeneral character, and shall be printed and distributed at thesame times and in the same manner as the catalogues provided'for under such act of March 4, 1909, a s amended, and may besubscribed for upon application to th e Superintendent of PublicDocuments, a t a price to be determined by the register of copy-rights. The cur rent catalogues of design copyright entries andthe indexes in connection therewith shall be admitted in any courtas prlma facie evidence of the facts therein stated as regardsany copyright registration for a design made under the provisionsof th is act.

Your committee is of the opinion that the better prac-tice mill be to require that a separate index of all regis-trations and assignments of design copyrights shall bemaintained by the register of copyrights and that suchcharge may be made for copies thereof as in the opinionof the register shall be deemed fair. I n this way the lawaffecting the catalogues of copyright entries heretoforein force remains unchanged.

Section 26 is mended so as to read as follows:SEC. 26. Design patents for designs for manOfactured products

specified in subdivision (c ) of section 1of this act obtained priorto the effective date of this a ct under sections 4929, 4930, 4931,and 4934 of the Revised Statutes, a s amended, shall remain in f ul lforce and effect, but no copyright may be secured under this actin any design for which a patent hns been eo obtained. On an dafter the effective date of th ir a c ! a design patent may be ob-


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tained for any design for any such lnanufactured product, butsuch potent shall automatically terminate upon the applicationof such design to or its embodiment in such manufactured productin the manner provided in this act, but nothing in this sectionshall be construed to prevent the securing of copyright under thisact subsequent to such termination of such design patent.PROTECTION O F DESIGN0 NOT APPLIED TO MANUFACTURED

PRODUCTB

I n the bill as i t passed the House of Representatives,no provision.is made for the protection of designs un-less and until they are applied to a manufactured prod-uct. Your committee believes th at some protectionshould be afforded to those who create designs, notwith-standing they are not applied to manufactured products.Therefore, by th is amendment to section 26 it is providedthat a design patent may be obtained for any designfor a manufactured product, just as under existing law,but that such design patent shall automatically termi-nate upon the application of such design to or its em-bodiment in a manufactured product. I n this may pro-tection is afforded to designs either under the provisionsof this bill or under the provisions of t he d e s i p patentlaw, depending upon whether or not such designs havebeen applied to manufactured products.Generally speaking, the bill does not alter or changethe general copyright law, though i t does modify itsphraseology. It will be noted that under the provisionsof section 8 an exemption is provided in the case of thedistribution or exposure for sale of manufactured arti-cles the design of which has been copyrighted by othersthan the manufacturer or importer, where articles havebeen purchased prior to the receipt of a notice of in-junction or restraining order. Th e provisions of saidsection further provide th at in order to come under saidexemption the owner or holder of such merchandise rrlustupon demand give evidence as to the source from whenceit was received. This exemption will allow a retailerto dispose of merchandise purchased by him prior tosuch court order.

Al l other modifications of existing law ar e designedto facilitate the securing of copyrights and the applica-tion for them and the general conduct of the CopyrightOfficeas it affects the articles enumerated in the bill.


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REPORT OF THE IlEOISTES 08 COPYRIOgTB(71et Cong.. Sd WEE. Senate Beport No. 1627. Part 21

M ~ N O R I T YIEWE[To accompany H.'R. 118521

(February .l o, 1931.-Ordered to be printed)Mr. Dill, from the Committee on Patents, submittedthe following :Th is bill proposes an entirely new kind of copyrig htlegislation. Wh enever in the past Congress has pro-vided copyright protection it has been for intellectualor artistic concepts only. Th e general copyright lawexpressly declares that copyright, as such, is distinctfrom the property in the mater ial object that is copy-righted. Th is bill not only fails to provide any suchdistinction, bu t specifically requires th at as a prerequisiteto securing copyright protection the design to be copy-righted must have been previously applied to a manufac-tured product. Thus, this copyright can not be gran tedon the design itself, but only upon the manufacturedproduct including the design.If this bill becomes a law, it will not " promote prog-ress of science an d the useful arts," the purpose f or w hichthe Constitution authorizes Congress to provide copy-right and patent protection by encouraging intellectualand artistic creations, so much as it will assist manufac-

turers to create and maintain monopolies in industrialrights. T he consuming public will be compelled to pa yfor these monopolies and a ll the num erous suits resultingfrom such copyrights in industry in the form of addedcosts for the products which the monopolies control,Thus this bill, as now written, should be entitled a billto prohibit unfa ir trade practices rather tha n a copyrightbill.A t present designers can secure protection f or designs.used in connection with m anufactured products by m eansof design patents. Th e propo nents of this bill, appear-ing before your committee, argued th at i t takes too lo ngto secure a design patent. Th ey state d it takes an aver-age of from six months to a year and that before theycan secure such a patent the design covered by the pat-ent has Iost its popularity and the patent is worthless.They argued that they must therefore have the p&-tion afforded by copyright, because a copyright begins


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immediately u pon the filing of the application with th eregister of copyrights.But this bill does far more than give such protectionas is afforded by design patents. T o secure a clesiw-.patent a designer must prove both novelty and origi-nality. Th is bill does not require novelty. All th at @necessary t o secure a cop yright under th is bill is fo r th eapplicant to sign an affidavit that he is the author ofth e design. Th e bill requires only that the design shallbe original w ith the designer.What will be the practical operation of this cheapand universal copyrig

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