In America, with the general lack of definite knowledge concerning all
matters relating to copyright, the so-called "International Copyright"
is equally shrouded in uncertainty. As the United States is not yet
a member of the International Copyright Union as established in the
convention of Berne, and cannot join this Union so long as the present
clause in the American copyright law exists requiring all books to be
completely manufactured within the United States in order to secure
copyright, it will be evident that registration at Washington does
not secure protection abroad. Mutual copyright protection has been
arranged, however, by special treaties with foreign nations. The
countries with which these treaty relations exist at present include:
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. Inasmuch as we are not yet members of the
International Copyright Union it is, strictly speaking, impossible for
a citizen of the United States to secure "International Copyright" on
his book, though a book can be protected in most of the countries where
protection is desirable.[27] Many publishers secure copyright in Great
Britain and her dependencies by publishing in England simultaneously
with the American publication, and by conforming to the other
requirements of the British law. A few publishers are of the opinion
that protection in Great Britain and her colonies can be secured by
publishing simultaneously in Canada instead of in England. Whether or
not this is equally binding cannot be definitely determined, as no test
case has as yet been made to establish or dispute the fact.
Recent copyright legislation in England has been pointed in the
direction of more strict regulations regarding bona fide publication in
England of American books on which English copyright is desired. This
is a step in the right direction, and defines the issue somewhat more
clearly, but even now conditions are not as well defined as they should
be, or as they must ultimately be. The following statements may be made:
(_a_) Simultaneous publication is necessary in England and the United
States. The English agents, therefore, should be supplied with not
less than seven copies of the book at least one week before the date
fixed for American publication.
¶Great care should be taken that the date selected for publication
is not Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England. These
public holidays are: Easter Monday, Monday in Whitsun-week, first
Monday in August, December 26 (or, if Sunday, December 27), Good
Friday and Christmas Day.
In Canada the public holidays are: New Year's, Good Friday, Easter
Monday, Empire Day (May 24), Dominion Day (July 1), first Mondays
in August and September (Labor Day), Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
The publication is accepted in England as being simultaneous if the
time between publication in England and in America does not exceed
fourteen days. It is important to note that when the case is reversed
the "simultaneous" publication of an American book in England must be
made on the exact day of its publication in America.
(_b_) The so-called English agent must be an English publisher. On the
day appointed for publication, the English agent must make formal sale
of at least one copy of the volume, and the entry of such sale must
appear upon his books. Six copies are delivered by the agent to the
following libraries:
_British Museum_
_Bodleian Library, Oxford_
_University Library, Cambridge_
_Library of the Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh_
_Library of Trinity College, Dublin_
_National Library of Wales_
¶It is not obligatory that five of these six copies be delivered
unless demand is formally made within twelve months after
publication, but if the books are not in stock for delivery then
the agent may be fined £5 plus the cost of the volume. The copy
for the British Museum must be delivered within one month after
publication.
If an edition de luxe is issued, the copy sent to the British
Museum must be of this edition.
Points which are still to be settled in the new English copyright law
are, whether or not, in order to make a bona fide publication, copies
should be sent out for review, and advertised or offered for sale by
the traveling salesmen of the English publisher. It is probable that
these points will be definitely determined within the next few months.
The English act requires a genuine publication to satisfy public
demand, and not merely a "colourable" formality. What "public demand"
may be has not yet been defined.
There is no necessity for printing any notice of English copyright, as
the English law does not require it; but it is customary, on American
books copyrighted in England, to use the words, "Copyright in England,"
to give warning that copyright is claimed on the book. It is not
considered necessary to have the English publisher's imprint on the
title-page of such books.
The expression sometimes seen on the copyright page, "All rights
reserved including that of translation into foreign languages including
the Scandinavian," is now valueless. The American and English
copyrights protect the book in all countries with which the United
States has copyright relations, and the notice would not prevent
appropriation in any country with which the United States has no
copyright relations. The expression came into use during the years
preceding our present reciprocal copyright arrangements, and is now
discontinued by those familiar with its original significance.