Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-12-24

allowance OF an Injunction should await
the outcome of an appeal .2io Fed. Rep.
es3. 1861. Both parties having appealed
the circuit court Of appeals sustained
the injunction order SO far as 1t went.
| and upon compliments appeal modified
| il and remanded the cause, with direc-
! tons to issue an Injunction also against
! any bodily taking OF the words or sub.
! stance of complainant's news until its
! commercial value as news had passe
: away (2i5 Fed. Rep. PA, 253). The pres
/; ent writ of certiorari was then allowed
| (245 U. S. 6Al.
| THE only matter that has been ar
gued before L. S. is whether defend
! ant may lawfully be restrained from
appropriating news taken from bull
| letins issued by complainant or any
| of its members or from newspapers
published by them. for the purpose OF
selling it to defendants clients. Com
plainant asserts that defendants ad-
mitted course of conduct in this re-
gard both violates complainant'S
+! property right in the news and con-
! stitutes unfair competition in BUSH
(
! has been proceeded only to the state
| Of a preliminary injunction we have
! deemed it proper to consider the UNI
f, DERIVING questions. since they go to
the very merits Of the action and are
presented upon facts that are not in
; dispute. AS presented In argument
these questions are: 1--Whether
there is any property in news; 2
Whether, if there be property in news
collected for the purpose of being
published. it survives the instant Of
its publication in the FIRST newspaper
To which it is communicated by the
news gatherers; and 3-Whether de-
PENDANTS admitted course OF conduct
in appropriating for commercial use
matter taken from bulletins or early
editions of Associated Press publica-
lions constitutes unfair competition
in trade.
In considering the general qucs
ton of property in news matter, it is
necessary to recognize its dual char
acter distinguishing between the sub
stance of the information and the
particular form or collocation of
words in which the writer has COM
municated it.
mo doubt news articles often pos
sess a literary equality and are the
subject of literary property at the
/ common laws; nor do we question
that such an article as a literary pub
location is the subject Of property
right by the terms Of the act as it
1,,1S n
Mr.. Justice Thompson held in effect
that q newspaper was not within the
protection Of copyright acts of 1915
and 1902. = But the present act
is broader. it provides that words for
which copyright may be secured shall
include "all the writings of an au-
thor" and specifically mentions per
iodicals, including newspapers"
Evidently this admits to copyright
contribution to a newspaper notwith-
standing it also may convey news; and
such is the practice of the copyright
office as the newspapers of the day bear
| witness. But the news element-the in
! formation respecting current events
contained in the literary production-is
not the creation of the writer but is :
report of matters that ordina rily are
nublici juris; it is the history Of the
day. 1t is not to be supposed that the
i, trainers OF the constitution when the;
empowered congress to promote the
4 progress of science and useful arts by
/ securing for limited times to authors
and inventors the exclusive right to
their respective writings and discover.
les, intended to confer upon one who
might happen TO report an historic
event the exclusive right for any Pc
Rod to spread the knowledge of it.
We need spend no time. however,
upon the general question of property
in news matter at common law, or the
! application of the copyright act, since
it seems to US the case must turn upon
the question Of unfair competition in
business. We are dealing here not with
restrictions upon publication, but with
the very facilities and processes Of puo-
! lication The peculiar value of news
is in the spreading of it while it is
fresh; and it is evident that a valuable
property interest in the news, as news,
cannot be maintained by keeping it Sc
cret Besides. except for matters i'm
trust or confidence, or in violation of
law, none Of which is involved in this
branch Of the case, the news of current
events may lie rega rded as common
property. What we are concerned with
is the business of making known to the
world in which both parties to the pres
, ent suit are engaged. That business
consists in maintaining a prompt, sure
steady and reliable service designed to
place the daily events of the world at
the breakfast table OF the milliono at
price that. while of trifling moment to
each reader is sufficient in the aggre-
gate to afford eompensat ton for the cost
Of gathering and distributing 1t with
centive to effect action in the CONNER
cial world
The service thus performed 10
newspaper readers is not only in
nocent but extremely useful in it
self and indubtably constitutes a
legitimate business. The parties are
competitors in this field; and on fun
damental principles applicable here
as elsewhere. when the rights or
privileges of the one are liable to
conflict with those Of the other. eacn
party is under a duty so to con-
duct its own business as not unneces-
sarily or unfairly 10 injure that Of
the other. : obviously the