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AN ACT to amend and consolidate the acts respecting copyright.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled, That any person entitled thereto, upon complying with the provisions of this
Act, shall have the exclusive right:
(a) To print, reprint, publish, copy, and vend the copyrighted work;
(b) To translate the copyrighted work into other languages
or dialects, or make any other version
thereof, if it be a literary work; to dramatize it if it be a nondramatic work; to convert it into a novel
or other nondramatic work if it be a drama; to arrange or adapt it if it be a musical work; to complete,
execute, and finish it if it be a model or design for a work of art;
(c) To deliver or authorize the delivery of the copyrighted work in public for profit if it be a lecture,
sermon, address, or similar production;
(d) To perform or represent the copyrighted work publicly if it be a drama or, if it be a dramatic
work and; not reproduced in copies for sale, to vend any manuscript or any record whatsoever
thereof; to make or to procure the making of any transcription or record thereof by or from which,
in whole or in part, it may in any manner or by any method be exhibited, performed, represented,
produced, or reproduced; and to exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or reproduce it in any manner
or by any method whatsoever;
(e) To perform the copyrighted work publicly for profit if it be a musical composition and for the
purpose of public performance for profit; and for the purposes set forth in subsection (a) hereof, to
make any arrangement or setting of it or of the melody of it in any system of notation or any form
of record in which the thought of an author may be recorded and from which it may be read or
reproduced: Provided, That the provisions of this Act, so far as they secure copyright controlling the
parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work, shall include only
compositions published and copyrighted after this Act goes into effect, and, shall not include the
works of a foreign author or composer unless the foreign state or nation of which such author or
composer is a citizen or subject grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens
of the United States similar rights: And provided further, and as a condition of extending the
copyright control to such mechanical reproductions, That whenever the owner of a musical
copyright has used or permitted or knowingly acquiesced in the use of the copyrighted work upon
the parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work, any other person may
make similar use of the copyrighted work upon the payment to the copyright proprietor of a royalty
of two cents on each such part manufactured, to be paid by the manufacturer thereof; and the
copyright proprietor may require, and if so the manufacturer shall furnish, a report under oath on the
twentieth day of each month on the number of parts of instruments manufactured during the previous
month serving to reproduce mechanically said musical work, and royalties shall be due on the parts
manufactured during any month upon the twentieth of the next succeeding month. The payment of
the royalty provided for by this section shall free the articles or devices for which such royalty has
been paid from further contribution to the copyright except in case of public performance for profit:
And provided further, That it shall be the duty of the copyright owner, if he uses the musical
composition himself for the manufacture of parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically
the musical work, or licenses others to do so, to file notice thereof, accompanied by a recording fee,
in the copyright office, and any failure to file such notice shall be a complete defense to any suit,
action, or proceeding for any infringement of such copyright.
In case of the failure of such manufacturer to pay to the copyright proprietor within thirty days
after demand in writing the full sum of royalties due at said rate at the date of such demand the court
may award taxable costs to the plaintiff and a reasonable counsel fee, and the court may, in its
discretion, enter judgment therein for any sum in addition over the amount found to be due as royalty
in accordance with the terms of this Act, not exceeding three times such amount.
The reproduction or rendition of a musical composition by or upon coin-operated machines shall
not be deemed a public performance for profit unless a fee is charged for admission to the place
where such reproduction or rendition occurs.
SEC. 2. That nothing in this Act shall be construed to annul or limit the right of the author or
proprietor of an unpublished work, at common law or in equity, to prevent the copying, publication,
or use of such unpublished work without his consent, and to obtain damages therefor.
SEC. 3. That the copyright provided by this Act shall protect all the copyrightable component
parts of the work copyrighted, and all matter therein in which copyright is already subsisting, but
without extending the duration or scope of such copyright. The copyright upon composite works or
periodicals shall give to the proprietor thereof all the rights in respect thereto which he would have
if each part were individually copyrighted under this Act.
SEC. 4. That the works for which copyright may be secured under this Act shall include all the
writings of an author.
SEC. 5. That the application for registration shall specify to which of the following classes the
work in which copyright is claimed belongs:
(a) Books, including composite and cyclopædic works, directories, gazetteers, and other
compilations;
(b) Periodicals, including 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:
Provided, nevertheless, That the above specifications shall not be held to limit the subject-matter
of copyright as defined in section four of this Act, nor shall any error in classification invalidate or
impair the copyright protection secured under this Act.
SEC. 6. That compilations or abridgements, adaptations, arrangements, dramatizations,
translations, or other versions of works in the public domain, or of copyrighted works when
produced with the consent of the proprietor of the copyright in such work, or works republished with
new matter, shall be regarded as new works subject to copyright under the provisions of this Act;
but
the publication of any such new works shall not affect the force or validity of any subsisting
copyright upon the matter employed or any part thereof, or be construed to imply an exclusive right
to such use of the original works, or to secure or extend copyright in such original works.
SEC. 7. That no copyright shall subsist in the original text of any work which is in the public
domain, or in any work which was published in this country or any foreign country prior to the going
into effect of this Act and has not been already copyrighted in the United States, or in any publication
of the United States Government, or any reprint, in whole or in part, thereof: Provided, however,
That the publication or republication by the Government, either separately or in a public document,
of any material in which copyright is subsisting shall not be taken to cause any abridgement or
annulment of the copyright or to authorize any use or appropriation of such copyright material
without the consent of the copyright proprietor.
SEC. 8. That the author or proprietor of any work made the subject of copyright by this Act, or his
executors, administrators, or assigns, shall have copyright for such work under the conditions and
for the terms specified in this Act: Provided, however, That the copyright secured by this Act shall
extend to the work of an author or proprietor who is a citizen or subject of a foreign state or nation,
only:
(a) When an alien author or proprietor shall be domiciled within the United States at the time of
the first publication of his work; or
(b) When the foreign state or nation of which such author or proprietor is a citizen or subject
grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of
copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens, or copyright protection substantially
equal to the protection secured to such foreign author under this Act or by treaty; 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 agreement the United States may, at its pleasure,
become a party thereto.
The existence of the reciprocal conditions aforesaid shall be determined by the President of the
United States, by proclamation made from time to time, as the purposes of this Act may require.
SEC. 9. That any person entitled thereto by this Act may secure copyright for his work by
publication thereof with the notice of copyright required by this Act;
and such notice shall be affixed
to each copy thereof published or offered for sale in the United States by authority of the copyright
proprietor, except in the case of books seeking ad interim protection under section twenty-one of this
Act.
SEC. 10. That such person may obtain registration of his claim to copyright by complying with
the provisions of this Act, including the deposit of copies, and upon such compliance the register of
copyrights shall issue to him the certificate provided for in section fifty-five of this Act.
SEC. 11. That copyright may also be had of the works of an author of which copies are not
reproduced for sale, by the deposit, with claim of copyright, of one complete copy
of such work if
it be a lecture or similar production or a dramatic or musical composition; of a photographic print
if the work be a photograph; or of a photograph or other identifying reproduction thereof if it be a
work of art or a plastic work or drawing. But the privilege of registration of copyright secured
hereunder shall not exempt the copyright proprietor from the deposit of copies under sections twelve
and thirteen of this Act where the work is later reproduced in copies for sale.
SEC. 12. That after copyright has been secured by publication of the work with the notice of
copyright as provided in section nine of this Act,
there shall be promptly deposited in the copyright
office or in the mail addressed to the register of copyrights, Washington, District of Columbia, two
complete copies of the best edition thereof then published, which copies, if the work be a book or
periodical, shall have been produced in accordance with the manufacturing provisions specified in
section fifteen of this Act; or if such work be a contribution to a periodical, for which contribution
special registration is requested,
one copy of the issue or issues containing such contribution; or if
the work is not reproduced in copies for sale, there shall be deposited the copy, print, photograph,
or other identifying reproduction provided by section eleven of this Act, such copies or copy, print,
photograph, or other reproduction to be accompanied in each case by a claim of copyright. No action
or proceeding shall be maintained for infringement of copyright in any work until the provisions of
this Act with respect to the deposit of copies and registration of such work shall have been complied
with.
SEC. 13. That should the copies called for by section twelve of this Act not be promptly deposited
as herein provided, the register of copyrights may at any time after the publication of the work, upon
actual notice, require the proprietor of the copyright to deposit them, and after the said demand shall
have been made, in default of the deposit of copies of the work within three months from any part
of the United States, except an outlying territorial possession of the United States, or within six
months from any outlying territorial possession of the United States, or from any foreign country,
the proprietor of the copyright shall be liable to a fine of one hundred dollars and to pay to the
Library of Congress twice the amount of the retail price of the best edition of the work, and the
copyright shall become void.
SEC. 14. That the postmaster to whom are delivered the articles deposited as provided in sections
eleven and twelve of this Act shall, if requested, give a receipt therefor and shall mail them to their
destination without cost to the copyright claimant.
SEC. 15. That of the printed book or periodical specified in section five, subsections (a) and (b)
of this Act, except the original text of a book of foreign origin in a language or languages other than
English, the text of all copies accorded protection under this Act, except as below provided, shall
be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, either by hand or by the aid of any
kind of typesetting machine, or from plates made within the limits of the United States from type set
therein, or, if the text be produced by lithographic process, or photoengraving process, then by a
process wholly performed within the limits of the United States, and the printing of the text and
binding of the said book shall be performed within the limits of the United States; which
requirements shall extend also to the illustrations within a book consisting of printed text and
illustrations produced by lithographic process, or photo-engraving process, and also to separate
lithographs or photo-engravings, except where in either case the subjects represented are located in
a foreign country and illustrate a scientific work or reproduce a work of art; but they shall not apply
to works in raised characters for the use of the blind, or to books of foreign origin in a language or
languages other than English, or to books published abroad in the English language seeking ad
interim protection under this Act.
SEC. 16. That in the case of the book the copies so deposited shall be accompanied by an affidavit,
under the official seal of any officer authorized to administer oaths within the United States, duly
made by the person claiming copyright or by his duly authorized agent or representative residing in
the United States, or by the printer who has printed the book, setting forth that the copies deposited
have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States or from plates made within the
limits of the United States from type set therein; or, if the text be produced by lithographic process,
or photoengraving process, that such process was wholly performed within the limits of the United
States, and that the printing of the text and binding of the said book have also been performed within
the limits of the United States. Such affidavit shall state also the place where and the establishment
or establishments in which such type was set or plates were made or lithographic process, or
photo-engraving process or printing and binding were performed and the date of the completion of the
printing of the book or the date of publication.
SEC. 17. That any person who, for the purpose of obtaining registration of a claim to copyright,
shall knowingly make a false affidavit as to his having complied with the above conditions shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not
more than one thousand dollars, and all of his rights and privileges under said copyright shall
thereafter be forfeited.
SEC. 18. That the notice of copyright required by
section nine of this Act shall consist either of
the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr.", accompanied by the name of the copyright
proprietor, and if the work be a printed literary, musical, or dramatic work, the notice shall include
also the year in which the copyright was secured by publication. In the case, however, of copies of
works specified in subsections (f) to (k), inclusive, of section five of this Act, the notice may consist
of the letter C inclosed within a circle, thus: © accompanied by the initials, monogram, mark,
or symbol of the copyright proprietor: Provided, That on some accessible portion of such copies or
of the margin, back, permanent base, or pedestal, or of the substance on which such copies shall be
mounted, his name shall appear. But in the case of works in which copyright is subsisting when this
Act shall go into effect, the notice of copyright may be either in one of the forms prescribed herein
or in one of those prescribed by the Act of June eighteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four.
SEC. 19. That the notice of copyright shall be applied,
in the case of a book or other printed
publication, upon its title-page or the page immediately following, or if a periodical either upon the
title-page or upon the first page of text of each separate number or under the title heading, or if a
musical work either upon its title-page or the first page of music: Provided, That one notice of
copyright in each volume or in each number of a newspaper or periodical published shall suffice.
SEC. 20. That where the copyright proprietor has sought to comply with the provisions of this Act
with respect to notice, the omission by accident or mistake of the
prescribed notice from a particular
copy or copies shall not invalidate the copyright or prevent recovery for infringement against any
person who, after actual notice of the copyright, begins an undertaking to infringe it, but shall
prevent the recovery of damages against an innocent infringer who has been misled by the omission
of the notice; and in a suit for infringement no permanent injunction shall be had unless the copyright
proprietor shall reimburse to the innocent infringer his reasonable outlay innocently incurred if the
court, in its discretion, shall so direct.
SEC. 21. That in the case of a book published abroad in the English language before publication
in this country, the deposit in the copyright office, not later than thirty days after its publication
abroad, of one complete copy of the foreign edition, with a request for the reservation of the
copyright and a statement of the name and nationality of the author and of the copyright proprietor
and of the date of publication of the said book, shall secure to the author or proprietor an ad interim
copyright, which shall have all the force and effect given to copyright by this Act, and shall endure
until the expiration of thirty days after such deposit in the copyright office.
SEC. 22. That whenever within the period of such ad interim protection an authorized edition of
such book shall be published within the United States, in accordance with the manufacturing
provisions specified in section fifteen of this Act, and whenever the provisions of this Act as to
deposit of copies, registration, filing of affidavit, and the printing of the copyright notice shall have
been duly complied with, the copyright shall be extended to endure in such book for the full term
elsewhere provided in this Act.
SEC. 23. That the copyright secured by this Act shall endure for twenty-eight years
from the date
of first publication, whether the copyrighted work bears the author's true name or is published
anonymously or under an assumed name: Provided, That in the case of any posthumous work or of
any periodical, cyclopædic, or other composite work upon which the copyright was originally
secured by the proprietor thereof, or of any work copyrighted by a corporate body (otherwise than
as assignee or licensee of the individual author) or by an employer for whom such work is made for
hire, the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright
in such work for the further term of twenty-eight years when application for such renewal and
extension shall have been made to the copyright office and duly registered therein within one year
prior to the expiration of the original term of copyright: And provided further, That in the case of any
other copyrighted work, including a contribution by an individual author to a periodical or to a
cyclopædic or other composite work when such contribution has been separately registered, the
author of such work, if still living, or the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author
be not living, or if such author, widow, widower, or children be not living, then the authors
executors, or in the absence of a will, his next of kin shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of
the copyright in such work for a further term of twenty-eight years when application for such renewal
and extension shall have been made to the copyright office and duly registered therein within one
year prior to the expiration of the original term of copyright: And provided further, That in default
of the registration of such application for renewal and extension, the copyright in any work shall
determine at the expiration of twenty-eight years from first publication.
SEC. 24. That the copyright subsisting in any work at the time when this Act goes into effect may,
at the expiration of the term provided for under existing law, be renewed and extended by the author
of such work if still living, or the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author be not
living, or if such author, widow, widower, or children be not living, then by the authors executors,
or in the absence of a will, his next of kin, for a further period such that the entire term shall be equal
to that secured by this Act, including the renewal period: Provided, however, That if the work be a
composite work upon which copyright was originally secured by the proprietor thereof, then such
proprietor shall be entitled to the privilege of renewal and extension granted under this section:
Provided, That application for such renewal and extension shall be made to the copyright office and
duly registered therein within one year prior to the expiration of the existing term.
SEC. 25. That if any person shall infringe the copyright in any work protected under the copyright
laws of the United States such person shall be liable:
(a) To an injunction restraining such infringement;
(b) To pay to the copyright proprietor such damages as the copyright proprietor may have suffered
due to the infringement, as well as all the profits which the infringer shall have made from such
infringement, and in proving profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove sales only and the
defendant shall be required to prove every element of cost which he claims, or in lieu of actual
damages and profits such damages as to the court shall appear to be just, and in assessing such
damages the court may, in its discretion, allow the amounts as hereinafter stated, but in the case of
a newspaper reproduction of a copyrighted photograph such damages shall not exceed the sum of
two hundred dollars nor be less than the sum of fifty dollars, and such damages shall in no other case
exceed the sum of five thousand dollars nor be less than the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars,
and shall not be regarded as a penalty:
First. In the case of a painting, statue, or sculpture, ten dollars for every infringing copy made or
sold by or found in the possession of the infringer or his agents or employees;
Second. In the case of any work enumerated in section five of this Act, except a painting, statue,
or sculpture, one dollar for every infringing copy made or sold by or found in the possession of the
infringer or his agents or employees;
Third. In the case of a lecture, sermon, or address, fifty dollars for every infringing delivery;
Fourth. In the case of dramatic or dramatico-musical or a choral or orchestral composition, One
hundred dollars for the first and fifty dollars for every subsequent infringing performance; in the
case of other musical compositions, ten dollars for every infringing performance;
(c) To deliver up on oath, to be impounded during the pendency of the action, upon such terms and
conditions as the court may prescribe, all articles alleged to infringe a copyright;
(d) To deliver up on oath for destruction all the infringing copies or devices, as well as all plates,
molds, matrices, or other means for making such infringing copies as the court may order;
(e) Whenever the owner of a musical copyright has used or permitted the use of the copyrighted
work upon the parts of musical instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work,
then in case of infringement of such copyright by the unauthorized manufacture, use, or sale of
interchangeable parts, such as disks, rolls, bands, or cylinders for use in mechanical music-producing
machines adapted to reproduce the copyrighted music, no criminal action shall be brought, but in a
civil action an injunction may be granted upon such terms as the court may impose, and the plaintiff
shall be entitled to recover in lieu of profits and damages a royalty as provided in section one,
subsection (e), of this Act: Provided also, That whenever any person, in the absence of a license
agreement, intends to use a copyrighted musical composition upon the parts of instruments serving
to reproduce mechanically the musical work, relying upon the compulsory license provision of this
Act, he shall serve notice of such intention, by registered mail, upon the copyright
proprietor at his last address disclosed by the records of the copyright office, sending to the copyright
office a duplicate of such notice; and in case of his failure so to do the court may, in its discretion,
in addition to sums hereinabove mentioned, award the complainant a further sum, not to exceed three
times the amount provided by section one, subsection (e), by way of damages, and not as a penalty,
and also a temporary injunction until the full award is paid.
Rules and regulations for practice and procedure under this section shall be prescribed by the
Supreme Court of the United States.
SEC. 26. That any court given jurisdiction under section thirty-four of this Act may proceed in any
action, suit, or proceeding instituted for violation of any provision hereof to enter a judgment or
decree enforcing the remedies herein provided.
SEC. 27. That the proceedings for an injunction, damages, and profits, and those for the seizure
of infringing copies. plates, molds, matrices, and so forth, aforementioned, may be united in one
action.
SEC. 28. That any person who willfully and for profit shall infringe any copyright secured by this
Act, or who shall knowingly and willfully aid or abet such infringement, shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment for not exceeding
one year or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or
both, in the discretion of the court: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall be so
construed as to prevent the performance of religious or secular works, such as oratorios, cantatas,
masses, or octavo choruses by public schools, church choirs, or vocal societies, rented, borrowed,
or obtained from some public library, public school, church choir, school choir, or vocal society,
provided the performance is given for charitable or educational purposes and not for profit.
SEC. 29. That any person who, with fraudulent intent, shall insert or impress any notice of
copyright required by this Act, or words of the same purport, in or upon any uncopyrighted article,
or with fraudulent intent shall remove or alter the copyright notice upon any article duly copyrighted
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars and not
more than one thousand dollars. Any person who shall knowingly issue or sell any article bearing
a notice of United States copyright which has not been copyrighted in this country, or who shall
knowingly import any article bearing such notice or words of the same purport, which has not been
copyrighted in this country, shall be liable to a fine of one hundred dollars.
SEC. 30. That the importation into the United States of any article bearing a false notice of
copyright when there is no existing copyright thereon in the United States, or of any piratical copies
of any work copyrighted in the United States, is prohibited.
SEC. 31. That during the existence of the American copyright in any book the importation into the
United States of any piratical copies thereof or of any copies thereof (although authorized by the
author or proprietor) which have not been produced in accordance with the manufacturing provisions
specified in section fifteen of this Act, or any plates of the same not made from type set within the
limits of the United States, or any copies thereof produced by lithographic or photo-engraving
process not performed within the limits of the United States, in accordance with the provisions of
section fifteen of this Act, shall be, and is hereby, prohibited:
Provided, however, That, except as
regards piratical copies, such prohibition shall not apply:
(a) To works in raised characters for the use of the blind;
(b) To a foreign newspaper or magazine, although containing matter copyrighted in the United
States printed or reprinted by authority of the copyright proprietor, unless such newspaper or
magazine contains also copyright matter printed or reprinted without such authorization;
(c) To the authorized edition of a book in a foreign language or languages of which only a
translation into English has been copyrighted in this country;
(d) To any book published abroad with the authorization of the author or copyright proprietor
when imported under the circumstances stated in one of the four subdivisions following, that is to
say:
First. When imported, not more than one copy at one time, for individual use and not for sale; but
such privilege of importation shall not extend to a foreign reprint of a book by an American author
copyrighted in the United States;
Second. When imported by the authority or for the use of the United States;
Third. When imported, for use and not for sale, not more than one copy of any such book in any
one invoice, in good faith, by or for any society or institution incorporated for educational, literary,
philosophical, scientific, or religious purposes, or for the encouragement of the fine arts, or for any
college, academy, school, or seminary of learning, or for any State, school, college, university, or free
public library in the United States;
Fourth. When such books form parts of libraries or collections purchased en bloc for the use of
societies, institutions, or libraries designated in the foregoing paragraph, or form parts of the libraries
or personal baggage belonging to persons or families arriving from foreign countries and are not
intended for sale: Provided, That copies imported as above may not lawfully be used in any way to
violate the rights of the proprietor of the American copyright or annul or limit the copyright
protection secured by this Act, and such unlawful use shall be deemed an infringement of copyright.
SEC. 32. That any and all articles prohibited importation by this Act which are brought into the
United States from any foreign country (except in the mails) shall be seized and forfeited by like
proceedings as those provided by law for the seizure and condemnation of property imported into
the United States in violation of the customs revenue laws. Such articles when forfeited shall be
destroyed in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury or the court, as the case may be, shall
direct: Provided, however, That all copies of authorized editions of copyright books imported in the
mails or otherwise in violation of the provisions of this Act may be exported and returned to the
country of export whenever it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in a written
application, that such importation does not involve willful negligence or fraud.
SEC. 33. That the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General are hereby empowered
and required to make and enforce such joint rules and regulations as shall prevent the importation
into the United States in the mails of articles prohibited importation by this Act, and may require
notice to be given to the Treasury Department or Post-Office Department, as the case may be, by
copyright proprietors or injured parties, of the actual or contemplated importation of articles
prohibited importation by this Act, and which infringe the rights of such copyright proprietors or
injured parties.
SEC. 34. That all actions, suits, or proceedings arising under the copyright laws of the United
States shall be originally cognizable by the circuit courts of the United States, the district court of
any Territory, the supreme court of the District of Columbia, the district courts of Alaska, Hawaii,
and Porto Rico, and the courts of first instance of the Philippine Islands.
SEC. 35. That civil actions, suits, or proceedings arising under this Act may be instituted in the
district of which the defendant or his agent is an inhabitant, or in which he may be found.
SEC. 36. That any such court or judge thereof shall have power, upon bill in equity filed by any
party aggrieved, to grant injunctions to prevent and restrain the violation of any right secured by said
laws, according to the course and principles of courts of equity, on such terms as said court or judge
may deem reasonable. Any injunction that may be granted restraining and enjoining the doing of
anything forbidden by this Act may be served on the parties against whom such injunction may be
granted anywhere in the United States, and shall be operative throughout the United States and be
enforceable by proceedings in contempt or otherwise by any other court or judge possessing
jurisdiction of the defendants.
SEC. 37. That the clerk of the court, or judge granting the injunction, shall, when required so to
do by the court hearing the application to enforce said injunction, transmit without delay to said court
a certified copy of all the papers in said cause that are on file in his office.
SEC. 38. That the orders, judgments, or decrees of any court mentioned in section thirty-four of
this Act arising under the copyright laws of the United States may be reviewed on appeal or writ of
error in the manner and to the extent now provided by law for the review of cases determined in said
courts, respectively.
SEC. 39. That no criminal proceeding shall be maintained
under the provisions of this Act unless
the same is commenced within three years after the cause of action arose.
SEC. 40. That in all actions, suits, or proceedings under this Act, except when brought by or
against the United States or any officer thereof, full costs shall be allowed, and the court may award
to the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
SEC. 41. That the copyright is distinct from the property in the material object copyrighted, and
the sale or conveyance, by gift or otherwise, of the material object shall not of itself constitute a
transfer of the copyright, nor shall the assignment of the copyright constitute a transfer of the title
to the material object; but nothing in this Act shall be deemed to forbid, prevent, or restrict the
transfer of any copy of a copyrighted work the possession of which has been lawfully obtained.
SEC. 42. That copyright secured under this or previous
Acts of the United States may be assigned,
granted, or mortgaged by an instrument in writing signed by the proprietor
of the copyright, or may
be bequeathed by will.
SEC. 43. That every assignment of copyright executed in a
foreign country shall be acknowledged
by the assignor before a consular officer or secretary of legation of the United States authorized by
law to administer oaths or perform notarial acts. The certificate of such acknowledgement under the
hand and official seal of such consular officer or secretary of legation shall be prima facie evidence
of the execution of the instrument.
SEC. 44. That every assignment of copyright shall be
recorded in the copyright office within three
calendar months after its execution in the United States
or within six calendar months after its
execution without the limits of the United States, in default of which it shall be void as against any
subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, without notice, whose assignment
has been duly recorded.
SEC. 45. That the register of copyrights shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, record such
assignment, and shall return it to the sender with a certificate of record attached under seal of the
copyright office, and upon the payment of the fee prescribed by this Act he shall furnish to any
person requesting the same a certified copy thereof under the said seal.
SEC. 46. That when an assignment of the copyright in a specified book or other work has been
recorded the assignee may substitute his name for that of the assignor in the statutory notice of
copyright prescribed by this Act.
SEC. 47. That all records and other things relating to copyrights required by law to be preserved
shall be kept and preserved in the copyright office, Library of Congress, District of Columbia, and
shall be under the control of the register of copyrights, who shall, under the direction and supervision
of the Librarian of Congress, perform all the duties relating to the registration of copyrights.
SEC. 48. That there shall be appointed by the Librarian of Congress a register of copyrights, at a
salary of four thousand dollars per annum, and one assistant register of copyrights, at a salary of three
thousand dollars per annum, who shall have authority during the absence of the register of copyrights
to attach the copyright office seal to all papers issued from the said office and to sign such
certificates and other papers as may be necessary. There shall also be appointed by the Librarian such
subordinate assistants to the register as may from time to time be authorized by law.
SEC. 49. That the register of copyrights shall make daily deposits in some bank in the District of
Columbia, designated for this purpose by the Secretary of the Treasury as a national depository, of
all moneys received to be applied as copyright fees, and shall make weekly deposits with the
Secretary of the Treasury, in such manner as the latter shall direct, of all copyright fees actually
applied under the provisions of this Act, and annual deposits of sums received which it has not been
possible to apply as copyright fees or to return to the remitters, and shall also make monthly reports
to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the Librarian of Congress of the applied copyright fees for
each calendar month, together with a statement of all remittances received, trust funds on hand,
moneys refunded, and unapplied balances.
SEC. 50. That the register of copyrights shall give bond to the United States in the sum of twenty
thousand dollars, in form to be approved by the Solicitor of the Treasury and with sureties
satisfactory to the Secretary of the Treasury, for the faithful discharge of his duties.
SEC. 51. That the register of copyrights shall make an annual report to the Librarian of Congress,
to be printed in the annual report on the Library of Congress, of all copyright business for the
previous fiscal year, including the number and kind of works which have been deposited in the
copyright office during the fiscal year, under the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 52. That the seal provided under the Act of July eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and
at present used in the copyright office, shall continue to be the seal thereof, and by it all papers issued
from the copyright office requiring authentication shall be authenticated.
SEC. 53. That, subject to the approval of the Librarian of Congress, the register of copyrights shall
be authorized to make rules and regulations for the registration of claims to copyright as provided
by this Act.
SEC. 54. That the register of copyrights shall provide and keep such record books in the copyright
office as are required to carry out the provisions of this Act, and whenever deposit has been made
in the copyright office of a copy of any work under the provisions of this Act he shall make entry
thereof.
SEC. 55. That in the case of each entry the person recorded as the claimant of the copyright shall
be entitled to a certificate of registration under seal of the copyright office, to contain his name and
address, the title of the work upon which copyright is claimed, the date of the deposit of the copies
of such work, and such marks as to class designation and entry number as shall fully identify the
entry. In the case of a book the certificate shall also state the receipt of the affidavit as provided by
section sixteen of this Act, and the date of the completion of the printing, or the date of the
publication of the book, as stated in the said affidavit. The register of copyrights shall prepare a
printed form for the said certificate, to be filled out in each case as above provided for, which certificate,
sealed with the seal of the copyright office, shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, be
given to any person making application for the same, and the said certificate shall be admitted in any
court as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. In addition to such certificate the register
of copyrights shall furnish, upon request, without additional fee, a receipt for the copies of the work
deposited to complete the registration.
SEC. 56. That the register of copyrights shall fully index all copyright registrations and
assignments and shall print at periodic intervals a catalogue of the titles of articles deposited and
registered for copyright, together with suitable indexes, and at stated intervals shall print complete
and indexed catalogues for each class of copyright entries, and may thereupon, if expedient, destroy
the original manuscript catalogue cards containing the titles included in such printed volumes and
representing the entries made during such intervals. The current catalogues of copyright entries and
the index volumes herein provided for shall be admitted in any court as prima facie evidence of the
facts stated therein as regards any copyright registration.
SEC. 57. That the said printed current catalogues as they are issued shall be promptly distributed
by the copyright office to the collectors of customs of the United States and to the postmasters of all
exchange offices of receipt of foreign mails, in accordance with revised lists of such collectors of
customs and postmasters prepared by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster-General, and
they shall also be furnished to all parties desiring them at a price to be determined by the register of
copyrights, not exceeding five dollars per annum for the complete catalogue of copyright entries and
not exceeding one dollar per annum for the catalogues issued during the year for any one class of
subjects. The consolidated catalogues and indexes shall also be supplied to all persons ordering them
at such prices as may be determined to be reasonable, and all subscriptions for the catalogues shall
be received by the Superintendent of Public Documents, who shall forward the said publications; and
the moneys thus received shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States and accounted for under
such laws and Treasury regulations as shall be in force at the time.
SEC. 58. That the record books of the copyright office, together with the indexes to such record
books, and all works deposited and retained in the copyright office, shall be open to public
inspection; and copies may be taken of the copyright entries actually made in such record books,
subject to such safeguards and regulations as shall be prescribed by the register of copyrights and
approved by the Librarian of Congress.
SEC. 59. That of the articles deposited in the copyright office under the provisions of the copyright
laws of the United States or of this Act, the Librarian of Congress shall determine what books and
other articles shall be transferred to the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, including
the law library, and what other books or articles shall be placed in the reserve collections of the
Library of Congress for sale or exchange, or be transferred to other governmental libraries in the
District of Columbia for use therein.
SEC. 60. That of any articles undisposed of as above provided, together with all titles and
correspondence relating thereto, the Librarian of Congress and the register of copyrights jointly shall,
at suitable intervals, determine what of these received during any period of years it is desirable or
useful to preserve in the permanent files of the copyright office, and, after due notice as hereinafter
provided, may within their discretion cause the remaining
articles and other things to be destroyed: Provided, That there shall be printed in the Catalogue
of Copyright Entries from February to November, inclusive, a statement of the years of receipt of
such articles and a notice to permit any author, copyright proprietor, or other lawful claimant to
claim and remove before the expiration of the month of December of that year anything found which
relates to any of his productions deposited or registered for copyright within the period of years
stated, not reserved or disposed of as provided for in this Act: And provided further, That no
manuscript of an unpublished work shall be destroyed during its term of copyright without specific
notice to the copyright proprietor of record, permitting him to claim and remove it.
SEC. 61. That the register of copyrights shall receive, and the persons to whom the services
designated are rendered shall pay, the following fees: For the registration of any work subject to
copyright, deposited under the provisions of this Act, one dollar, which sum is to include a certificate
of registration under seal: Provided, That in the case of photographs the fee shall be fifty cents where
a certificate is not demanded. For every additional certificate of registration made, fifty cents. For
recording and certifying any instrument of writing for the assignment of copyright, or any such
license specified in section one, subsection (e), or for any copy of such assignment or license, duly
certified, if not over three hundred words in length, one dollar; if more than three hundred and less
than one thousand words in length, two dollars; if more than one thousand words in length, one
dollar additional for each one thousand words or fraction thereof over three hundred words. For
recording the notice of user or acquiescence specified in section one, subsection (e), twenty-five
cents for each notice if not over fifty words, and an additional twenty-five cents for each additional
one hundred words. For comparing any copy of an assignment with the record of such document in
the copyright office and certifying the same under seal, one dollar. For recording the extension or
renewal of copyright provided for in sections twenty-three and twenty-four of this Act, fifty cents.
For recording the transfer of the proprietorship of copyrighted articles,
ten cents for each title of a book or other article, in addition to the fee prescribed for recording the
instrument of assignment. For any requested search of copyright office records, indexes, or deposits,
fifty cents for each full hour of time consumed in making such search: Provided, That only one
registration at one fee shall be required in the case of several volumes of the same book deposited
at the same time.
SEC. 62. That in the interpretation and construction of this Act "the date of publication" shall in
the case of a work of which copies are reproduced for sale or distribution be held to be the earliest
date when copies of the first authorized edition were placed on sale, sold, or publicly distributed by
the proprietor of the copyright or under his authority, and the word "author" shall include an
employer in the case of works made for hire.
SEC. 63. That all laws or parts of laws, in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, but nothing in this Act shall affect causes of action for infringement of copyright heretofore
committed now pending in courts of the United States, or which may hereafter be instituted; but such
causes shall be prosecuted to a conclusion in the manner heretofore provided by law.
SEC. 64. That this Act shall go into effect on the first day or July, nineteen hundred and nine.
Approved, March 4, 1909.
[60th Congress, 2d session.]
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