The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-12-24

| newspaper or upon a bulletin board, the | right of property is lost, and the sub sequent use of the news by the public
 or by defendant for any purpose what soever becomes lawful.
 | FOR BENEFIT OF MEMBERS 1 preliminary objection in which the
 suit is brought may be disposed of at | the outset. It is said that the circuit court of appeals granted relief upon con- l sideration applicable to particular mem l bers of the Associated Press, and that ! was erroneous because the suit was brought by complainant as a corporate entity, and not by it's members-the ar | gument being that their interests can not be protected in this proceeding any
 more than the individual rights of a I stockholder can be enforced in an action I brought by the corporation. From the averments of the bill, however 1t is
 plain that the suit in substance was brought for the benefit of complainant s
 members, and that they would be proper parties, and, except for their numbers, perhaps necessary parties. Complainant | is a proper party to conduct the suit as | representing their interests; and since no specific objection, based upon the want
 of parties, appears to have rules SS, 43 and A.
 Board of Trade vs Christie Grain
 and Stock company, 198, U S., 236 250, |
 related to the distribution of quotations
 of prices on dealings upon a board of trade, which were collected by plaintiff
 and communicated on confidential terms 1 to numerous persons under a contract
 not to make them public. This court l keld that apart from certain special ob- l ligations that were overruled, plaintiff 8
 collection of quotations was entitled to the protection of the law that, like a | trade secret, plaintiff might keep to it. self the work done at it's expense, and did not lose it's right by communicating the result to persons, even if many, in tconfidential relations to itself, under a
 contract not to make it public; and that l strangers should be restrained from get ting at the knowledge by inducing a breach of trust.
 l Tn National Tel. News company vs. | Western Union Telegraph company, 119 1 Fed Rep. 294 the circuit court of ap-
 peals for the Seventh district dealt with
 news matter gathered and transmitted l by telegraph company and consisting
 merely of a notation of current events having but transient value due to
 quick transmission and distribution; and, while declaring that this was not copy i righted although printed on a tape by tickers In the offices of the recipients,
 and that it was commercial, not a i literary product, nevertheless held that
 the business of gathering and communi-
 eating the news-the service of pur-
 veying it-was a legitimate business, meeting distinctive commercial want and adding to the facilities of the busi-
 ness world, and partaking of the nature | of property in a sense that entitled it to 1 the protection of court of equity l against piracy.
 i Tn considering :he general ques-
 tion of property in news matter, it | is necessary to recognize its dual char. acter, distinguishing between the sub. l stance of the information and the par | ticular form of collection of words in which the writer has communicated I it.
 NO doubt news articles often pos
 sess a literary quality. and are the subject of literary property at the
 common law: nor do we question that such an article, as literary produc- l ton, is the subject of copyright by the terms of the act as it now stands. | In an early case at the circuit Mir. I Justice Thompson held in effect that l a newspaper was not within the pro- 1 tection of the copyright acts of l7s0 i and 1902 (Clayton vs. Stone, Paine 3S2; 5 Fed. Cas- No. 2s72). But the pres | ent act is broader; it provides that i the works for which copyright may be secured shall include .all the writings of an author and specially mentions l periodicals, including newspapers 1 (Act of March 4, 1909. oh. 320, secs 4 and 5; 35 Stat. 1075, 1076)
 Evidently this admits to copyright
 a contribution to a newspaper not withstanding it also may convey news:
 and such Is the practive. of the copy right. as the newspapefs of the day I bear witness.
 Sec copyright office bulletin number IS 19lD pp. ', 14. 1s, IT.
 l Put the news element--the infor- nation respecting current events con l tained in the literary production-is not the creation of the writer, but is
 a report of matters that ordinarily
 publici juris; 1t is the history of the