The Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Liberia states that the powers which he has received from his Government authorise him to sign the Convention, but that he has not received instructions as to the class in which his country proposes to place itself with respect to the contribution to the expenses of the International Bureau. He, therefore, reserves that question to be determined by his Government, who will make known their intention on the exchange of ratifications.
In witness whereof, the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present procès-verbal.
Done at Berne, the 9th day of September 1886.
In accordance with the stipulations of Article XXI., paragraph 1, of the Convention for the creation of an International Union for the protection of literary and artistic works, concluded at Berne on the 9th September 1886, and in consequence of the invitation addressed to that effect by the Swiss Federal Council to the Governments of the High Contracting Parties, the Undersigned assembled this day in the Federal Palace at Berne for the purpose of examining and depositing the ratifications of:
to the said International Convention, followed by an Additional Article and Final Protocol.
The instruments of these acts of ratification having been produced and found in good and due form, they have been delivered into the hands of the President of the Swiss Confederation, to be deposited in the archives of the Government of that country, in accordance with clause No. 7 of the Final Protocol of the International Convention. [370]
In witness whereof the undersigned have drawn up the present procès-verbal, to which they have affixed their signatures and the seals of their arms.
Done at Berne, the 5th September 1887, in nine copies, one of which shall be deposited in the archives of the Swiss Confederation with the instruments of ratification.
| For Great Britain | (L. S.) | F. O. Adams. | |
| For Germany | (L. S.) | Alfred von Bülow. | |
| For Belgium | (L. S.) | Henry Loumyer. | |
| For Spain | (L. S.) | Comte de la Almina. | |
| For France | (L. S.) | Emmanuel Arago. | |
| For Haiti | (L. S.) | Louis-Joseph Janvier. | |
| For Italy | (L. S.) | Fè. | |
| For Switzerland | (L. S.) | Droz. | |
| For Tunis | (L. S.) | H. Marchand. |
On proceeding to the signature of the procès-verbal recording the deposit of the acts of ratification given by the High Parties Signatory to the Convention of the 9th September 1886, for the creation of an International Union for the protection of literary and artistic works, the Minister of Spain renewed, in the name of his Government, the declaration recorded in the procès-verbal of the Conference of the 9th September 1886, according to which the accession of Spain to the Convention includes that of all the territories dependent upon the Spanish Crown.
The Undersigned have taken note of this declaration.
In witness whereof they have signed the present Protocol, done at Berne, in nine copies, the 5th September 1887.
British Order in Council giving effect to the International Copyright Convention with Belgium, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Tunis, of September 9, 1886.
Whereas the Convention, of which an English translation is set out in the First Schedule to this Order, has been concluded between Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the foreign countries named in this Order, with respect to the protection to be given by way of copyright to the authors of literary and artistic works:
And whereas the ratifications of the said Convention were exchanged on the 5th September 1887, between Her Majesty the Queen and the Governments of the foreign countries following, that is to say:
Belgium, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Tunis.
And whereas Her Majesty in Council is satisfied that the foreign countries named in this Order have made such provisions as it appears to Her Majesty expedient to require for the protection of authors of works first produced in Her Majesty's dominions. [371]
Now therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, and by virtue of the authority committed to her by the International Copyright Acts, 1844 to 1886, doth order, and it is hereby ordered as follows:
1. The Convention as set forth in the First Schedule to this Order shall as from the commencement of this Order have full effect throughout Her Majesty's dominions, and all persons are enjoined to observe the same.
2. This Order shall extend to the foreign countries following, that is to say[1782]:
Belgium, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Tunis.
And the above countries are in this Order referred to as the foreign countries of the Copyright Union, and those foreign countries, together with Her Majesty's dominions, are in this Order referred to as the countries of the Copyright Union.
3. The author of a literary or artistic work which, on or after the commencement of this Order, is first produced in one of the foreign countries of the Copyright Union shall, subject as in this Order and in the International Copyright Acts, 1844 to 1886, mentioned, have as respects that work throughout Her Majesty's dominions the same right of copyright, including any right capable of being conferred by an Order in Council under section 2 or section 5 of the International Copyright Act, 1844, or under any other enactment as if the work had been first produced in the United Kingdom, and shall have such right during the same period.
Provided that the author of a literary or artistic work shall not have any greater right or longer term of copyright therein than that which he enjoys in the country in which the work is first produced.
The author of any literary or artistic work first produced before the commencement of this Order shall have the rights and remedies to which he is entitled under section 6 of the International Copyright Act, 1886.
4. The rights conferred by the International Copyright Acts, 1844 to 1886, shall in the case of a literary or artistic work first produced in one of the foreign countries of the Copyright Union by an author who is not a subject or citizen of any of the said foreign countries, be limited as follows: that is to say, the author shall not be entitled to take legal proceedings in Her Majesty's dominions for protecting any copyright in such work, but the publisher of such work shall, for the purpose of any legal proceedings in Her Majesty's dominions for protecting any copyright in such work, be deemed to be entitled to such copyright as if he were the author, but without prejudice to the rights of such author and publisher as between themselves.
5. A literary or artistic work first produced simultaneously in two or more countries of the Copyright Union shall be deemed for the purpose of copyright to have been first produced in that one of those countries in which the term of copyright in the work is shortest.[372]
6. Section 6 of the International Copyright Act, 1852, shall not apply to any dramatic piece to which protection is extended by virtue of this Order.
7. The Orders mentioned in the Second Schedule to this Order are hereby revoked[1783]: Provided that neither such revocation, nor anything else in this Order, shall prejudicially affect any right acquired or accrued before the commencement of this Order by virtue of any Order hereby revoked, and any person entitled to such right shall continue entitled thereto and to the remedies for the same, in like manner as if this Order had not been made.
8. This Order shall be construed as if it formed part of the International Copyright Act, 1886.
9. This Order shall come into operation on December 6, 1887, which day is in this Order referred to as the commencement of this Order.
And the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury are to give necessary orders herein accordingly.
Orders in Council, of the dates named below, for securing the privileges of copyright in Her Majesty's dominions to authors of works of literature, and the fine arts, and dramatic pieces, and musical compositions first produced in the following foreign countries, namely:
| Foreign Country. | Date of Entry. |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 27th August 1846 |
| Saxony | 26th September 1846 |
| Brunswick | 24th April 1847 |
| The States of the Thuringian Union | 10th August 1847 |
| Hanover | 30th October 1847 |
| Oldenburg | 11th February 1848 |
| France | 10th January 1852 |
| Anhalt Dessau and Anhalt Bernbourg | 11th March 1853 |
| Hamburg | 25th November 1853, and 8th July 1855 |
| Belgium | 8th February 1855 |
| Prussia, Saxony, Saxe-Weimar | 19th October 1855 |
| Spain | 24th September 1857, and 20th November 1880 |
| The States of Sardinia | 4th February 1861 |
| Hesse-Darmstadt | 5th February 1862 |
| Italy | 9th September 1865 |
| German Empire | 24th September 1886 |
[373]
The Order in Council of 5th August 1875, revoking the application of Section 6 of 15 & 16 Vict. c. 12 to dramatic pieces referred to in the Order in Council of 10th January 1852 with respect to works first published in France.
The International Convention of the 9th September 1886, is modified as follows:
1. Article II.—The first paragraph of Article II. shall run as follows:
"Authors belonging to any one of the countries of the Union, or their lawful representatives, shall enjoy in the other countries for their works, whether unpublished, or published for the first time in one of those countries, the rights which the respective laws do now or shall hereafter grant to nationals."
A fifth paragraph is added in these terms:
"Posthumous works are included among those to be protected."
2. Article III.—Article III. shall run as follows:
"Authors not belonging to one of the countries of the Union, who shall have published or caused to be published for the first time their literary or artistic works in a country which is a party to the Union, shall enjoy, in respect of such works, the protection accorded by the Berne Convention, and by the present Additional Act."
3. Article V.—The first paragraph of Article V. shall run as follows:
"Authors belonging to any one of the countries of the Union, or their lawful representatives, shall enjoy in the other countries the exclusive right of making or authorising the translation of their works during the entire period of their right over the original work. Nevertheless, the exclusive right of translation shall cease to exist if the author shall not have availed himself of it, during a period of ten years from the date of the first publication of the original work, by publishing or causing to be published in one of the countries of the Union, a translation in the language for which protection is to be claimed."
4. Article VII.—Article VII. shall run as follows:
"Serial stories, including tales, published in the newspapers or periodicals of one of the countries of the Union, may not be reproduced, in original or translation, in the other countries, without the sanction of the authors or of their lawful representatives.
"This stipulation shall apply equally to other articles in newspapers or periodicals, when the authors or editors shall have expressly declared in the newspaper or periodical itself in which they shall have been published that the right of reproduction is prohibited. [374] In the case of periodicals it shall suffice if such prohibition be indicated in general terms at the beginning of each number.
"In the absence of prohibition, such articles may be reproduced on condition that the source is acknowledged.
"In any case, the prohibition shall not apply to articles on political questions, to the news of the day, or to miscellaneous information."
5. Article XII.—Article XII. shall run as follows:
"Pirated works may be seized by the competent authorities of the countries of the Union where the original work is entitled to legal protection.
"The seizure shall take place conformably to the domestic law of each State."
6. Article XX. The second paragraph of Article XX. shall run as follows:
"Such denunciation shall be made to the Government of the Swiss Confederation. It shall only be effective as regards the country making it, the Convention remaining in full force and effect for the other countries of the Union."
The final Protocol annexed to the Convention of the 9th September 1886, is modified as follows:
1. No. 1.—This clause shall run as follows:
"As regards Article IV., it is agreed as follows:
"(A.) In countries of the Union where protection is accorded not only to architectural plans, but also to the architectural works themselves, these works shall be admitted to the benefits of the Berne Convention and of the present Additional Act.
"(B.) Photographic works and works produced by an analogous process shall be admitted to the benefits of these engagements in so far as the laws of each State may permit, and to the extent of the protection accorded by such laws to similar national works.
"It is understood that an authorised photograph of a work of art shall enjoy legal protection in all the countries of the Union, as contemplated by the Berne Convention and by the present Additional Act, for the same period as the principal right of reproduction of the work itself subsists, and within the limits of private arrangements between those who have legal rights."
2. No. 4.—This clause shall run as follows:
"The common agreement contemplated in Article XIV. of the Convention is established as follows:
"The application of the Berne Convention and of the present Additional Act to works which have not fallen into the public domain within the country of origin at the time when these engagements come into force, shall operate according to such stipulations on this head as may be contained in special Conventions either actually existing or to be concluded hereafter. [375]
"In the absence of such stipulations between any of the countries of the Union, the respective countries shall regulate, each for itself, by its domestic legislation, the manner in which the principle contained in Article XIV. is to be applied.
"The stipulations of Article XIV. of the Berne Convention and of the present clause of the Final Protocol shall apply equally to the exclusive right of translation, in so far as such right is established by the present Additional Act.
"The temporary stipulations noted above shall be applicable to countries which may hereafter accede to the Union."
The countries of the Union which are not parties to the present Additional Act, shall at any time be allowed to accede thereto on their request to that effect. This stipulation shall apply equally to countries which may hereafter accede to the Convention of the 9th September 1886. It will suffice for this purpose that such accession should be notified in writing to the Swiss Federal Council, who shall in turn communicate it to the other Governments.
The present Additional Act shall have the same force and duration as the Convention of the 9th September 1886.
It shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at Paris, in the manner adopted in the case of that Convention, as soon as possible, and within the space of one year at the latest.
It shall come into force as regards those countries which shall have ratified it three months after such exchange of ratifications.
In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seal of their arms.
Done at Paris in a single transcript, the 4th May 1896.
Circumstances having prevented action being taken within the period of delay originally fixed for the exchange of the ratifications of the Additional Act of the 4th May 1896, modifying Articles II., III., V., VII., XII., and XX. of the Convention of the 9th September 1886, and clauses 1 and 4 of the Final Protocol annexed thereto, as well as of the Declaration interpreting certain stipulations of the Convention of Berne of the 9th September 1886, and of the Additional Act signed at Paris on the 4th May 1896, it has been unanimously agreed that that period should be prolonged until this day.
In consequence whereof the Undersigned have met together in order to deposit the instruments in question.
Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Tunis have ratified both engagements.
Great Britain has ratified the Additional Act alone, on behalf of the United Kingdom, as well as of all the British Colonies and Possessions.
Norway has only ratified the interpretative Declaration. [376]
The respective ratifications having been produced and found to be in good and due form, have been handed to the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, in order that they may be deposited in the archives of the Ministry, such deposit to be held equivalent to an exchange of ratifications.
In faith of which the Undersigned have prepared the present Record of deposit, to which they have affixed their seals.
Done at Paris, the 9th September 1897.
| For Germany: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Von Müller. |
| For Belgium: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Baron Alb. Fallon. |
| For Spain: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Le Marquis De Novallas. |
| For France: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | G. Hanotaux. |
| For Great Britain: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Edmund Monson. |
| For Italy: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | G. Tornielli. |
| For Luxembourg: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Eugène Louis Bastin. |
| For Monaco: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | J. Depelley. |
| For Montenegro: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | H. Marcel. |
| For Norway: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Comte Wrangel. |
| For Switzerland: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Duplan. |
| For Tunis: | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Renault. |
| Certified to be a correct copy. | ||
| (L. S.) | (Signed) | Ph. Crosier
Minister Plenipotentiary, Chef du Service du Protocole. |
Whereas, &c. (Preamble recites the Berne Convention, 1886, Order in Council November 28, 1887, other Orders in Council affecting countries subsequently acceding, and the Additional Act of Paris.)
And whereas Her Majesty in Council is satisfied that the foreign countries named in the body of this Order and parties to the said Additional Act have made such provisions as it appears to Her Majesty expedient to require for the protection of authors of works first produced in Her Majesty's dominions:
Now therefore Her Majesty, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council and by virtue of the authority committed to Her by the International Copyright Acts, 1844 to 1886, doth order, and it is hereby ordered as follows: [377]
(1.) The Additional Act of the Berne Convention set forth in the Schedule to this Order shall as from the commencement of this Order have full effect throughout Her Majesty's dominions, and all persons are enjoined to observe the same.
(2.) This Order shall extend to the foreign countries following, that is to say:[1784]
(3.) The fourth article of the Order in Council of November 28, 1887, shall as from the commencement of this Order cease to apply to the foreign countries to which this Order extends:
(4.) The Order in Council of November 28, 1887, shall continue to be of full force and effect save in so far as the same is varied by this Order.
(5.) Nothing contained in this Order shall prejudicially affect any right acquired or accrued before the commencement of this Order by virtue of the said Order in Council of November 28, 1887, or otherwise, and any person entitled to such right shall continue entitled thereto and to the remedies for the same in like manner as if this Order had not been made.
(6.) The author of any literary or artistic work first produced before the commencement of this Order shall have the rights and remedies to which he is entitled under section 6 of The International Copyright Act, 1886.
(7.) This Order shall be construed as if it formed part of The International Copyright Act, 1886.
(8.) This Order shall come into operation on the date hereof, which day is in this Order referred to as the commencement of this Order.
And the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury are to give the necessary orders herein accordingly.
My Lords take into consideration the correspondence which has passed between the Treasury and the Stationery Office on the subject of Copyright in Government publications.[378]
The law gives to the Crown, or the assignee of the Crown, the same right of copyright as to a private individual. Consequently, if a servant of the Crown, in the course of his duty for which he is paid, composes any document, or if a person is specially employed and paid by the Crown for the purpose of composing any document, the copyright in the document belongs to the Crown as it would in the case of a private employer.
The majority of publications issued under the authority of the Government have no resemblance to the works published by private publishers, and are published for the information of the public and for public use, in such manner as any one of the public may wish, and it is desirable that the knowledge of their contents should be diffused as widely as possible.
In other cases the Government publishes at considerable cost works in which few persons only are interested, but which are published for the purpose of promoting literature and science.
These works are of precisely the same character as those published by private enterprise.
In order to prevent an undue burden being thrown on the taxpayer by these works, and to enable the Government to continue the publication of works of this character to the same extent as heretofore, it is necessary to place them, as regards copyright, in the same position as publications by private publishers. If the reproduction of them, or of the most popular portions of them, by private publishers, is permitted, the private publisher will be able to put into his own pocket the profits of the work, which ought to go in relief of the general public, the taxpayers.
The question, then, is, what are the classes of works the reproduction of which is to be restricted, or to be left unrestricted?
Government publications may be classified as follows:
(1.) Reports of Select Committees of the two Houses of Parliament, or of Royal Commissions.
(2.) Papers required by Statute to be laid before Parliament, e. g., Orders in Council, Rules made by Government Departments, Accounts, Reports of Government Inspectors.
(3.) Papers laid before Parliament by Command, e. g., Treaties, Diplomatic Correspondence, Reports from Consuls and Secretaries of Legation, Reports of Inquiries into Explosions or Accidents, and other Special Reports made to Government Departments.
(4.) Acts of Parliament.
(5.) Official books, e. g., Queen's Regulations for the Army or Navy.
(6.) Literary or quasi-literary works, e. g., the Reports of the Challenger Expedition, the Rolls Publication, the forthcoming State Trials, the "Board of Trade Journal."
(7.) Charts and Ordnance Maps.
As respects the first five classes of publications, the reproduction of them, with certain exceptions, should not be restricted in any form whatever. Indeed, in most cases it is desirable that they should be made known to the public as widely as possible.
The first exception is, that Acts of Parliament and official books should not, except when published under the authority of the Government, purport on the face of them to be published by authority. [379]
The second exception is, where a work of a literary or quasi-literary character comes accidentally within these classes. For example, the Reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission would, but for the fact that they were produced under the direction of a Commission instead of under the Master of the Rolls, be published in the ordinary manner like the Rolls publications, and come within Class 6.
So, again, a Report to a Government Department may be laid before Parliament made by a person of eminent scientific knowledge who is willing to give the Government and the public the advantage of his knowledge, but not to allow it to be reproduced for the private benefit of an individual publisher. Mr. Whitehead's Reports on Injurious Insects are an instance of this case.
Other exceptions will, no doubt, from time to time occur, which can only be dealt with as they arise.
As regards the sixth and seventh classes above mentioned, it seems desirable that the copyright in them should be enforced in the interests of the taxpayer, and of literature and science. For, as pointed out above, unless copyright is enforced, cheap copies of the works, or of the popular portion of them, can be produced by private publishers, who reap the profit at the expense of the taxpayer. And as such works are in any case a burden on the taxpayer, the greater the burden the fewer works can the Government, with justice to the taxpayer, undertake.
Notice of the intention to enforce the copyright in any work should be given to the public. In the case of future works this notice can be given by prefixing to the work a notice to the effect that the rights of copyright are reserved. In the case of past works it will be desirable to inform the publishing trade of the works the reproduction of which, without permission, is forbidden.
As respects Acts of Parliament, the Government, in obedience to the wishes of Parliament expressed by Select Committees, are bound to publish an edition of them by authority as cheaply as practicable, and a nearly similar remark applies to official publications. For this purpose the Comptroller of the Stationery Office shall be appointed Her Majesty's Printer, but care will be taken not to infringe on any existing privileges granted by the Crown.
Let instructions be given to the Comptroller of the Stationery Office and to the Solicitor in pursuance of this Minute.
Sec. 4948. All records and other things relating to copyrights and required by law to be preserved shall be under the control of the Librarian of Congress, and kept and preserved in the Library of Congress; and the Librarian of Congress shall have the immediate care and supervision thereof, and, under the supervision of the joint committee of Congress on the Library, shall perform all acts and duties required by law touching copyrights. [380]
Sec. 4949. The seal provided for the office of the Librarian of Congress shall be the seal thereof, and by it all records and papers issued from the office and to be used in evidence shall be authenticated.
Sec. 4950. The Librarian of Congress shall give a bond, with sureties, to the Treasurer of the United States, in the sum of five thousand dollars, with the condition that he will render to the proper officers of the Treasury a true account of all monies received by virtue of his office.
Sec. 4951. The Librarian of Congress shall make an annual report to Congress of the number and description of copyright publications for which entries have been made during the year.
sec. 4952. Any Citizen of the United States or resident therein who shall be the author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print,[1786] or photograph or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, or 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 may reserve the right to dramatize or to translate their own works.[1787]
Sec. 4953. Copyrights shall be granted for the term of twenty-eight years from the time of recording the title thereof, in the manner hereinafter directed.
Sec. 4954. The author, inventor, or designer, if he be still living and a citizen of the United States or resident therein, or his widow or children, if he be dead, shall have the same exclusive right continued for the further term of fourteen years, upon recording the title of the work or description of the article so secured a second time, and complying with all other regulations in regard to original copyrights, within six months before the expiration of the first term. And such person shall, within two months from the date of said renewal, cause a copy of the record thereof to be published in one or more newspapers, printed in the United States, for the space of four weeks.[1788]
Sec. 4955. Copyrights shall be assignable in law by any instrument of writing, and such assignment shall be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress within sixty days after its execution; in default of which it shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser, or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice.
Sec. 4956. No person shall be entitled to a copyright unless he shall, before publication, deliver at the office of the Librarian of Congress, or deposit in the mail addressed to the Librarian of Congress at Washington, District of Columbia, a printed copy of the title of the book or other article, or a description of the painting, drawing, chromo, statue, statuary, or a model or design for a work of the fine arts, for which he desires a copyright, nor unless he shall also within ten days from the publication thereof[1789] deliver[381] at the office of the Librarian of Congress or deposit in the mail addressed to the Librarian of Congress at Washington, District of Columbia, two copies of such copyright book or other article, or in case of a painting, drawing, statue, statuary, model, or design for a work of the fine arts, a photograph of the same.[1790]