Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-31
TIE DEPOSIT OF BOOKS
PROVISIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT
BILL.
Greater Leniency Proposed in the
Matter Of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ton Of Music.

The text of the report of the House COM
mittee on the copyright bill which was
presented yesterday became available to-
day. The report deals especially with the
general question of depositing with the
Librarian of Congress copies of copyrighted
books and the special questions of me-
chanical musical devices.
Commenting on the requirement of the
existing law that two complete copies Of
book be deposited with the librarian not
later than the first day of publication, the
committee says:
1.-THE failure of shipping clerk to see
that the copies go seasonably forward to
Washington may destroy copyright OF
great value, and very many copyrights nave
been lost because by some accident or
mistake this requirement was not computed
with
The injustice of imposing such an excess
sive penalty on any failure to SO deposit
seems to have been recognized by Congress
at one time, and by an act approved March
g. 1893, 1t was provided that any author
who had failed to deliver within the time
limit-that is, before publication-but VINO
had so delivered the copies at any time
before the first day of March. 1893, should
be entitled to a copyright. This protected
from forfeiture the existing copyrights, out
it in no way modified the penalty OF for
fixture for any failure to comply with the
rigid requirement of the law after the said
1st day of March.
The Proposed Requirement.
THE bill reported by your committee
provides that after copyright has been
secured by such publication and notice
thereof there shall be deposited in the copy
right office, or in the mail, addressed to the
register of copyrights. two complete copies
of the best edition. and should the copies
not be promptly deposited the register of
copyrights may at any time after publica-
ton, upon written demand, require the
proprietor of the copyright to deposit them,
and in default of the deposit of the copies
within one month from any part of the
United States except an outlying territorial
possession of the United States or within
possession of the United States or from
any foreign country the proprietor of the
copyright shall then forfeit said copyright"
Copyright on Music.
On the question of music copyright the
report says: More time was given by the
committee to the consideration of this pro-
vision than was given to any other pro-
vision in the original bill. A case involving
the right to reproduce by mechanical means
any copyrighted musical composition is
pending before the Supreme Court of the
United States, and your committee felt that
further legislation regarding this matter
SHOULD De pOStpoNeu untlt We Cdu hHOW
what construction the court will give to the
existing law.
Your committee felt that the public per-
Torrance of a musical composition without
first obtaining the consent of the copyright
proprietor should not be prohibited in all
cases, but only when the public perform
ance is for profit For that reason what
was known as paragraph g in the original
bill and the last part of paragraph e in
the new draft have been eliminated. The
reDOrted
the House regarding the reproduction of
copyrighted music by mechanical means is
found in paragraph of section l as it now
stands. Your committee believe that If this
is enacted into law it will simply prohibit
the public performance for profit of copy
righted music without the consent Of the
proprietor by any means whatever. whether
mechanical or otherwise