THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 740, 12 February 1910, Page 6

THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT.

The revised , International Copyright Convention' was signed at Berlin in Noember, 1908. In March of this year the. 'resident of the, Board of , Trade apminted a committee to consider "how far . he law of the United' Kingdom should le altered so as to give, effect, to , the raised convention; - The' committee, which ricluded Lord Gorell, Sir L. Alma-• , Ydema, Mr, Anthopy Hope Hawkins, Sir ' Frederick Macmillan,": Mr. GranviUe Bar-' asr,, and Mr. William Boosey, has just- ' ssued its'report; .It, is' an interesting and " , mportant document,'' • much'; concerned vith. points of minuto and technical de-' ; ail* which, cannot, be' discussed<.without;■ lareful consideration; Tho. first point that. mist- strike every reader, and that struck ;he committee themselves, ;is .the: general;;; iomplexity: and confusion of the English - aw of. copyright. ■ "The .. law,". as . a • Soya! Commission stated, vsome ;■ thirty ■ ears ago, "is wholly destitute of any . irrungement, : incomplete, 1 often . obscure, ind even when it' is. intelligible'upon lone ■*- study; it is in many parts: so;-ill-expressed that no one. who does not givo such; study to it'ean' expect to understand it."- It is smbo'died "in a whole series of statutes - dating back to 1735, and many, of these Acts were , passed by legislators, who, had no practical acquaintance with the subjects with which they were dealing, and small appreciation of their' . importance. The complexity,'-if not. the confusion, has greatly increased "..during the' past few years,!; owing- to causes "which lie mainly... outside the actions, of; Parliaments and lawyers. Enterprise)',invention, and. the progress of scientific discovery have given wider.'extension;;to' the'meaning of. copy-, . right; and. offered ,new scope for the opera- ; tions ■of those who are anjaoua to profit Ijjr. the.; work of other people's-brains or theirown.; The Copyright Act of 1842, which is still tho basis of, our whole modem lair on the .subject,' jumbled' 'up all literaix publications • together ,: .as - "books" and almost; ignored;the: whole.*-.,'problem .-'of;,--. protecting. newspapers, . periodicals, ' and l many; other, forms - of ..authorship,-, and;:,-printed.matter,-:,D.uring;.'the V past'.few; . years, we 'havo,been-brought face.tofaoe with a large number : of new forms.o£ . production: andrreproductioa,-.which _ require to bo placed under legal regulation. > Tho Revised-. .Convention •, deals.-, with•-. points that .would have been unintelligible, to the. delegate?-. atißerne. in 1886,. and,probably- unknown to - most of -those, who signed the - Paris Ad: of 1896. - V ;■-.- " Photography, and the kindred processes .: had not, even in the latter year, assumed their present . mercantile.,andartistic imr ,:. portance. A.photograph;was :regarded as■. hardly'a'work of,,art at:all;,;and at any rate;an ophemeral atfair—a property, notlikely; to - possess permanent. value. The' committee. recommend .that a-photograph -~ should enjoy, he' same term of copyrignt as a literary, work,', -the!...actual; .photo-'•• grapher being regarded."as',.ithe "author,";,; unless he has produced the plate. to tho , order of another/ person;...; Mechanical in-'*; ventio'n, however, has got far' beyond: tho camera.- - ThoV- kinem'atograph. - and' _.the:' gramophono have:.set. s6ine ; .hard questions' . which; press ;'for'.',solutioir in; view,, of- the ;,' largo.'cpmmercial.'iind;finandal, as.well, us artistic," interests ; involve;!.. In con-, nectio'i with' the former-ingenious device,' there 'aro. two. different* bodies'.; of persons who : : ,require':'prbtcction.;;'There V.is'th#: original ;autlior';._p'f" Pictnret'; pantomime,' classical dance,' or; we .might even add;? tho political I 'speech,' which is, or. may be' reproduced in "moving' pio- - tures"; and. there is the matter of; thos# 'reproductions. . The conyentipn. -deddes,,' ,and : the. committee agrees, .that; the' on-;, ginal author is to; :have;; the ; exclusive right ,'of ■' authorising : the 'xepresentatidn/ot,' his:.-works - by, kinematography. I '.lf/; how- ■; ever, 'the'kinematographer_ shall; by new arrangements ■ and ; ; combinations,' vhava; given the' work;: "a personal; and original.. character," 'he,: too', 1 -.shall 'be - protected against thdse-;-who : might desire to : make - illicit" cotiies' of;/ his ■- duly licensed-- repro. ;■ the'-'gramophoM. gave - the-j committee-; a;'-' good' : deal ,01 trouble. \ "The Berlin'Conv«ntion gives tho ■ authors'.-' of musical'; woria-ithe- eschEwa' 1 .right- of. authorising- :the f. adaptation >.01; .their ; works to a -instruments •Ma produce.- them ' mechanically.,;>The,...a>nK v mitteo: this-provision.: They recommend an amendment in. the. cxisun?,'. law which .will carry outits. spirit. .-But' they.. admit*; that-'.in.'jthe'-- exercise_of . this ; exclusive authors right.'Somo fliillculußS 'wftl; arise.-, V,For j one . thing, -. ; thG'-.' whole.. gigantic" business insgrampphpnes veloped: on .the.? practicakassumption tiiat no such right -exists.:, -In the ■ application of. the !new,, law -, considerable *. : indulgeiice will * have to, bi? ishown., to .'vested; interests,. 'which have- grown -up.liuider, .the. present system ■of Free-trade'" in, musical . ,r6-'cords.':'..'.-Then', again,;the-, questi.on pses„ whether the composer ought,to ,bo allowed-!., to create a monopply for . .himself ; and ;-a,; -. single',; favoured., dealer.';.. .In \ the ._. new... United States.Copyright Act this point is; dealt.with, : and. it is, enacted-,that' a com-, poser 'who, has; once. allowed'- a to be,-' gramophoned,.cannot ( refuse the pnvilegtt- > of ' reproduction.;to anybody.; who. desires . to use;it.for;a.sinular purpose, tnougn ne, is ' entitled f,to levy 'a ; fixW-. royalty _ for,, each;'; : "ieco)c<l" '- manufactured.; Lord GpreU's committee,' Kbwever, -:mth,. on»: dissentiient/ have decided that the com- , ppser shall' hove "complete , freedom ,ot. aotien; ' and shall : be emppwered. tp ,gUf the right '.ef Teprpductipn -and, presmtatipn .to, oUe" manufacturer, pr to many at .his: - own . ~ , . . v. ' , Another novel question, is, that of arcw>tectural V, Plans; ' designs ; are already:, secured . against-. 'the new" convention ; proposes that. -tne.. • building. itself:! shall-' be copyright," and; that the :"auth6r,"./that .is ,;to say,, the. architect,. shall; : be , able • -to restrain person from imitating it. - The majority of - the committee' accept, this recommends-; tion, though, not irithput stronglyrworded .'protests from' Mr.' Jpynson-Hicks,. MJ,, . and Mr. Scruttpri; K.C;-, The-provision is: certainly 'one tliat raises gTeat dlfficultiffij thpugh' wo believeVthey- havebeen_suC7 : cessfully; surmo anted : ,ini- Prance. 1 .. :Prao- • tically the -Departmental- 1 Cemmittee ;ha?/ adopted'- the ; views of : the .private- : corn-; mittee: ef ■ artists i'which; fcr :■ several. years .lras: been-'.-werking : ontSa'. scheme l!'underthe chairmanship-of Sir L. Alma-Tadema. Space ;do.es -not permit "u's,-to ..dwell 'on .various'' 'other; clauses' in' the report ■ that are of'considerable public interest. 1 General attention-.will' 1 no 'doubt be focussed i on the?discussion 1 'of- the. termrof; years 1 .'during ."which-'' Hie- : author's*, copyright !shoul(t : bo secured. '',It' has ; always'--been' '.a',niost'' debatable" ppint, "'on .'which this, practice 'of ; different --' countries-'varies. . Spain' - is ,1110 -• moSt : ;liberalj ■ pving.; the author copyright* for: his own, life and eighty'. .years 'afterwards. ~" * In: '■ .France, Belgium; and Denmark .the' term' is: the' author's -life 'and • fifty;'years 1 after,-: and in.Germany,■.Japan,' and Switzerland the posthumous- period is reduced to thirty , years;--an: the.',United-States', C9pyright ~underl the ,newiAct ;■'is ; granted' in ■ the first instance' ' for twenty-eight ' years, ■ iwith rights of renewal - in.- eertaiij*-' cases for a - further' twenty-eight, years.-. Our own' rulte is life;and seven years- or fortytwo years from publication, whichever' is i tiie- longer- term, Mn- .the': case of';books, . and life ;ahd ''seven-'years "for-; pictures,while sculpture '- and -engravings-'--have jieeu '-limited- (fer np reason that; pne, can •discover)" to eight-and-twenty :years.',;The : . Bwlin; Convention-now " lays- down-' the peribd"'of : protection as'- the - life of the author; and : fifty -years - after:-:his.:-.death, r ilniiy'i pcpplo " (including Uwo ' dissentient moinbers nf the committee) 1 may '■ think tho- time undtily "long. '.Suppose.'an s«i"tlitor publishes'' a masterpiece at'twenw- - live and lives to be eighty, the copyright will, Inst for over-n * century.- ;The-.com-mittee recognises -the"'objectious,'; but it ■ thinks:- they, must; be'*-overruled'; by ; tho . necessity for: bringing-:about a, uniformity of system in all the cpntracting "countries. Uniformity is certainly, the/"note" of the-entire scheme; and "perhaps' that . is, why- a'single-set of .-.rules'is applied : to" things, so different- in . themselves ;as " books, '.' dramas; musical" '. compositions; translations. from; foreign: languages, , lec- .' tures, ;pantomime shows, l and paintings. There is copyright in, all these; but the word represents, diffcrenti ideas'in .differ; "ont cascs. and'isome confusion might b« , avoided'if the fact, were recognised instead • of- being rather, -elaborately. - disguised—"The Standard." r ■;.