THE matter of copyright is one which admittedly requires thorough
revision. No one seems able to explain why it is that in spite of
conferences and delegations, congresses and discussions, the product
of a man's brain is still at the mercy of regulations which even those
in authority are unable to define. As a matter of fact, the copyright
itself is merely a registration, which protects only in case the
claimant of the copyright possesses the rights he claims. The Copyright
Office does not undertake to pass upon his rights, leaving the question
to the courts in case of dispute. It simply records his claims, and
by this recording gives him certain rights provided his claims can be
substantiated. The statements here made, therefore, cannot be taken as
definitive, but are based upon information given out by the Copyright
Office, and upon the usage of the best publishing-houses.
When a publisher has accepted a manuscript, it becomes a part of his
duty to secure the copyright. Usually, this is taken out in the name
of the publisher rather than of the author, as the contract itself
is really a license to sell from the author to the publisher. It is
also the duty of the publisher to take all necessary steps to effect
renewals of copyright as provided for by law.[22]
For those who find it necessary to take out their own copyrights, the
following information is of value:
The copyright law provides that the application for registration of any
work "shall specify to which of the following classes the work in which
copyright is claimed belongs":
(_a_) Books, including composite and cyclopaedic works, directories,
gazetteers, and other compilations.
(_b_) Periodicals, newspapers.
(_c_) Lectures, sermons, addresses, prepared for oral delivery.
(_d_) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions.
(_e_) Musical compositions.
(_f_) Maps.
(_g_) Works of art; models or designs for works of art.
(_h_) Reproductions of a work of art.
(_i_) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical
character.
(_j_) Photographs.
(_k_) Prints and pictorial illustrations.
The Amendatory act, approved August 24, 1912, added the following two
new classes of works as subject to copyright:
(_l_) Motion-picture photoplays.
(_m_) Motion pictures other than photoplays.
A work is not entitled to registration unless it is reasonably possible
to classify it under one or the other of the above designations named
in the statute.
¶Compilations, abridgments, adaptations, dramatizations,
translations or other versions of works produced with the consent
of the proprietor of such works, or works republished with new
matter, are regarded as new works subject to copyright.
An alien author or proprietor can be protected by our law only in case
he be domiciled within the United States at the time of the first
publication of his work; or when the foreign state or nation of which
he is a citizen or subject grants to citizens of the United States
the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its
own citizens; or when such foreign state or nation is a party to an
international agreement which provides for reciprocity in the granting
of copyright by the terms of which the United States may become a party
thereto.
¶Copyright protection is at present granted in the United States
to works of authors who are citizens or subjects of the following
countries: Belgium, France, Great Britain and her possessions,
Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Mexico,
Chile, Costa Rica, Netherlands and her possessions, Cuba, China,
Norway, Japan (and Korea), Austria, Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Luxemburg, Sweden, Tunis and Hungary.