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Memorandum Dated January 22, 1907 In Support Of Copyright Office Substitute For Section 18 Of The Bill, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

THE COPYRIGHT TERM:

Memorandum Accompanying Substitute Suggested by Copyright Office for Section 18 of the Bill

A. The provision ought at least- —
(1) to assure io the author provision for his old age;
(2) to assure to the community the benefit of his own revision of his works as long as he lives, (only a complete control, of them will do this;)
(3) to enable him to provide for his children until they reach the age where they are likely to be self-supporting, or, if daughters, married;
B. (In the effort to meet the above needs) the provision ought …

Hearings Before The (Joint) Committees On Patents, December 7-11, 1906, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

Text of S. 6330 and H.R. 19853

Page 116-7

STATEMENT OF MR. SAMUEL L. CLEMENS:

Necessarily I am interested particularly and especially in the part of the bill which concerns my trade. I like that bill, and I like that extension from the present limit of copyright life of forty-two years to the author's life and fifty years after. I think that will satisfy any reasonable author, because it will take care of his children. … I should like to have you encourage oyster culture and anything else. I have no illiberal feeling toward the bill. I like it. I …

Hearings Before The (Joint) Committees On Patents, June 6-9, 1906, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

S. 6330 Proposed Text

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the copyright secured by this Act shall include the sole and exclusive right:

(a) For the purposes set forth in subsection (b) hereof, to make.any copy of any work or part thereof the subject of copyright under the provisions of this Act, or to abridge, adapt, or translate into another language or dialect any such work, or make any other version thereof;

(b) To sell, distribute, exhibit, or let for hire, or offer or keep for …

Initial Revision Bills Of 1906, S. 6330 And Hr 19853, Compared With Copyright Law In Force In December, 1904, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

PREFATORY NOTE

The official text of the copyright bill, presented to Congress on May 31, 1906, is reprinted in the following pages. Each separate section of the bill (in large type) is followed by the text of such parallel provisions as are found in the copyright laws now in force. These are supplemented by occasional notes referring to and quoting the earlier copyright statutes, and such other enactments as serve to elucidate either the present statutory provisions or the proposed legislation. All the provisions of the copyright laws in force are included, and it is hoped that this compilation may …

Arguments Before The Committee On Patents, May 3, 1906, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, during the last hundred years and more the inventors of the country have been liberally dealt with by the lawmakers, and the result is to-day no country m the world stands higher in everything in the line of mechanical and industrial development than the United States does, and I think you gentlemen who have this matter of patents in charge may justly take pride in yourselves that your committee in the past has done such magnificent work for the wealth, the prosperity, and the reputation, and the ability of the United States at …

Arguments Before The Committee On Patents, May 2, 1906, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

CHAIRMAN. The bill seeks to amend section 4966 of the Revised Statutes, which in the original text is as follows:

Any person publicly performing or representing any dramatic composition for which a copyright has been obtained, without the consent of the proprietor thereof, or his heirs or assigns, shall be liable for damages therefor, such damages in all cases to be assessed at such sum, not less than one hundred dollars· for the first and fifty dollars for every subsequent performance, as to the court shall appear to be just.

On January 6, 1897, section 4966 was amended to read …

Letter Of April 17, 1906 From Register Of Copyrights Concerning Importation Clause Of Proposed Copyright Bill, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

The enclosed copy of the importation clauses of the proposed Copyright bill, is sent to each member of the American Library Association at the request of the Executive Board and of Messrs. Hill and Bostwick, delegates of the Association at the recent conferences on Copyright.

The passages embraced in marginal lines are those supposed to be of particular concern to libraries.

Stenographic Report Of The Proceedings Of The Librarian's Conference On Copyright, 3d Session, At Library Of Congress, Washington, D. C., March 13-16, 1906, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

A preliminary draft of a proposed bill for the amendment and consolidation of the copyright law was submitted as a basis for discussion to the Conference on Copyright held at the call of the Librarian of Congress, in New York, on November 1 - 4, 1905, succeeding a previous one held May 31 - June 2, 1905. Some fifty persons were present, mainly representatives of associated interests concerned in copyright legislation. A lively interest was manifested, unanimity of opinion expressed as to the need for amended legislation, and valuable suggestions advanced. Many of these suggestions, together with others since transmitted, …

Notice Of March 6, 1906 From Librarian For The Conference To Be Held March 13-16, 1906 And Accompanying Memorandum, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

NOTICE FOR CONFERENCE OF MAR. 13-16,1906.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

To the Organizations Represented at the recent
Conference on Copyright and to be
Represented at the Coming Conference, March 13:

The memorandum embodying the revised draft has now reached you. At the first session on Tuesday next we should propose at the outset to invite each organization (briefly and without argument):

(1) To designate by sections any provisions to which it would propose amendment in substance; and
(2) To state any proposals not provide for in the draft, but which it still desires to urge.

In order that the above statement …

Stenographic Report Of The Proceedings Of The Librarian's Conference On Copyright, 2d Session, In New York City, November 1-4, 1905, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

This draft of the proposed Bill for the amendment and consolidation of the copyright laws is entitled a "Memorandum Draft" to indicate its tentative nature. It is not submitted as a complete text. The time allowed (since September first) has been too short to do justice to so difficult a task. Provisions dealing with many important questions, such as penalties for infringement, judicial procedure, definitions, and the inclusion of other subjects under copyright protection, have had to be left for future consideration. It is hoped, however, that what is here tentatively submitted may serve as a basis for such discussion …

Excerpt From Report Of The Librarian Of Congress For Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1905, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

"The existing copyright laws of the United States are admittedly imperfect and confused, difficult for the courts to interpret, and impossible for the Copyright Office to administer to the satisfaction of its clients. A similar, though less flagrant condition of the laws relating to trade-marks led to the appointment by Congress of a Commission to revise and codify them. Similar action has been urged to deal with copyright. The experience of the committees of Congress concerned with these subjects led them to believe, however, that as effective results would be achieved more promptly, and at less cost, by conference and …

Stenographic Report Of The Proceedings Of The Librarian's Conference On Copyright, 1st Session, In New York City, May 31-June 2, 1905, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

The origin and the occasion and the purpose of the Conference … is a general agreement that our present copyright laws are defective in definition and imperfect and perhaps inconsistent in expression. The occasion is an intimation from the Senate Committee on Patents that at the coming session of Congress it proposes to submit abill for a codification of these laws. Such a bill would naturally be drafted in the Copyright Office. If so, it would be the desire of the Copyright Office to have upon it the criticism of the various interests concerned with copyright protection. But the office …

Letter From Sen. Kittredge To Librarian Of Congress, Dated January 27, 1905, Recommending That Librarian Call Conference, United States Congress

Legislative History – Copyright Act of 1909

UNITED STATES SENATE
Committee on Patents

Washington, D. C.
January 27, 1905.

Hon. Herbert Putnam,
Library of Congress
Washington, D. C.

My dear Sir:-

Yesterday I conferred with Senator Platt of Connecticut regarding your suggestion that Congress by resolution authorize you to call a conference to consider a codification of the copyright law. Senator Platt is strongly opposed to the appointment of a commission and also thinks it improper for Congress to authorize you to call this conference. I have taken this matter up with the members of the Patent Committee and we have agreed that Senator Platt’s conclusion is …

Limits To State Control Of Private Business, Thomas M. Cooley

Articles

The present purpose is to inquire whether, in the matter of the regulation of property rights and of business, legislation has not of late been occupying doubtful, possibly unconstitutional grounds. The discussion in the main must be limited to fundamental.-principles, aided by such light as legal and constitutional history may throw upon them, since the express provisions of the constitutions can give little assistance. They always contain the general guaranty of due process of law to life, liberty, and property, but in other particulars they for the most part leave protection to principles which have come from the common law. …