US Copyright Office: ar-1944

8/14/2019 US Copyright Office: ar-1944

1/18

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESSCOPYRIGHT OWICE\

FORTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORTOF TE E

REGISTER O F COPYRIGHTSFO R THE FISCAL YEAR

ENDING JUNE 30

UNITED STATESGOVERNMENT PRINTING 0FRXk

WASEING'IIIN : 9rLS '


2/18

CONTENTSRegistrations and Receipta----,-------------------Copyright Deposits--------,------------------------------------------Expenditures------------------------------------------------------Aceounts--------,---------------------------------------------------Uorrespondence-------------------------------------------------------Recording, Certiflqation, and Indexing of Copyrights------------- -------ClementL.BouvB-------------_-,,,---------------------------------------Personnel---,-,----------------------------------------------------Publicatione---------------------------------------------------------Proclamation of the President under Act of Sept. 25, 194l---,,,----,Copyright Bills in Congreaa------------------- - -------- f ------Recent important decisions of the courto----,------

/


3/18

TH E COPYRIGHT OFFICEREPORT TO THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS BY THE

REGISTER OF COPYRIGHI'SWASHINGTON,. C., Augwt M, 1944.SI R: The copyright business and the work of the Copyright Office .for the fiscal year July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1944, inclusive, are sum-marized as follows :

Registrations and ReceiptrThe figures for the past year show a material increase in businessover the preceding year. Registrations advanced from 160,709 to169,269, or 5.6 percent, and gross receipts f rom $324,300.99 to $333,-270.24, an increase of 2.7 percent. The increase in registrations appliedto nearly all classes of material, but was most noticeable in musicalcompositions (from 48,348 to 52,087-mostly manuscript pieces) andperiodicals (from 42,995 to 44,364). There was a significant increasein the number of English books registered for ad interim copyright(517 to 602) and in commercial pr in ts and labels (5,385 to 5,953). 'On the other hand, "books proper," i. e. bound volumes, printed in theUnited States, fell from 8,658 to 7,585, maps from 737 to 494, andmotion picture photoplays from 693 to 604. The decrease in registra-tions of American books, doubtless attributable in par t to paper short-age, was compensated, statistically and in the amount of copyrightbusiness, by an increase in the registrations of other book material(pamphlets; leaflets, and contributions to periodicals). The decreasein registrations of motion picture photoplays (from 693 to 604) was

overcome by the increase in registrations of other types of motionpictures (from 1,074 to 1,268). The material. decrease in map regis-trations i s perhaps due to present political and economic conditions,perhaps to other causes similar to those which reduced the number ofbook registrations. I ,The volume of copyright business has been in the past a f air ly accu-rate barometer of business coilditions generally. Th e figures for thefiscal year 1944 would indicate th at the trough of war-caused disloca-tion of business has been passed'and that the normal steady increase inthe number of registrations is again taking place. Registrations for(he past five years are shown in the table which follows:1


4/18

2 R E PO R T O F T H E R E G IS T ER O F COPYRIGHTB, 1 944Registration by subject matter classes for the f i d ears 1940 o 1944,inclusive

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A

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Bubfect matter of copyright

Bo*:(a) Prhted h he United Btrtcs:Books proper.--.--.-.-..----------

Pamphlets,lea6ets,etc..--..------Contributions to n ew sp aw andperiodkab.-.-.-..---------------TO W..--.....-......---.------

(b ) Printed abroad h a foreign I(c) Engllah book8 registered for adlnterlm wpp4ght---------.---.----

TO W.---.-.-----....----------Perlodleels (numben)...-.----.-----.-------Lectures, sermons, addreasas.-..-.-.-.-------Dramatic or dramatlco-musicalwmpasitiona.Musical wmpositbna-....-.-----------.----.Maps.----..--.--..--------------------------Wor b of art,modela, or deslsna-.....-.---.-Reproductions of works of art--.----..-..-.--Drawlngs or plastlc work8 of a scientllb ortechnicalcharsctar..-..--.-----------------Photographs.................................Commercial prints and labeb.--......-...-.Prints and pictorial illustratiom-.--.--------Motion picture pbotoplsys--------.----------Motion pictures not photoplays-.-.-....-----Renewals of wmmercial prints and lab rb...-Renewals of a ll other elasar--.-.-.-......-.

Tbtsl.............--- -------------.--..

1044

727,W4?ao39,998

40.68244,8641,1244,8766 2 , W494/74a17811,2706,811112,12(1811U14903

109,280

1048

8,65827,6688,668--9,784

1 M617

4446742,9088188,687

48,94117871,649?2 l

1 9 1 11,04248M2,817

81 )/074P9 . M

160,'18D

1942

148?733,6204 1 1 9

49,1181600

60.27844146BOa448 ~60,OB15 110aZ1

2,W1,6027 12,917871

1,3482711,461

1 Q Z B

1941 3

12,78681,1874 8 4 6

49,767108

61,88642,2011 '6,01049.1861 . m5 7843

4 86U2,4117,162.8 , W8aaOI8

191 0 , W180,647

18U)--- 11,976

84,68113,92860,669!2 W950

64,05140,1781,278645037,976/8223,0814462,8172,690-.-.--.-.-4898a )811

. -. . -. -lO,m176987


5/18

REPORT OF T H E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTB, 1944 3. The fees actually applied for registrations of copyright amountedto $301,110. Total earnings from these and other fees (for recordingassignments, certifying documents, etc.) were $319,466.30. The tablewhich follows gives a summary acc6unt.

Summary oj Copyright Business, Fiscal Year 1944.Balance on hand July 1, 1948 ................................. $55,569.60,Gross receipts July 1,1043 o J u n e 30,1944------,---------------33,270.24

T o t a l t o r h e accounted for-------,--------------------------Refunded--------,-------................... $17,347.91Checks returned unpaid ............................. 81.00Deposi ted as earned fees------------,,-------,--------97.0'75.10Balance carried over to July 1, 1044:

Fees ea rned in J une 1944 bu t no t d epos i ted untf l July 1 W -,------- $28,140.30Udnis hed bus ines s ba lance---,,-,----,998.19Deposit accounts balance-,,--,-,--,6 , l W. 18 14,335.6'7

FewReceivedRegis tra t ions for prints and labele----,---:,,,--,953 a t $6 $35,718.00Regis tra t ions for publ ished works----- ---------- 101,856 t $2 203,712.00Regis tra t lons for publ ished photographs w ithout cer-tificates--,-,..................... - ---------- 418 at $1 - 418.00Regls tra t ions fo r unpub li shed w o r k --- ---,-----0,796 a t $l0,795.00Registratlons for renewals of prints and labels-,---- 44 a t $8 264. 00Registrations for renewals, all other classes-------- lO, 03 a t $1 10,203.00-Total number of regls tmtions---------------- 189,289Fees for regis t ra t ions-----------------,----i--- - - 30% 11t300Fees for recording 4,354 ass ignments-,-------------- $12,523.00Fees for indexing 19,003 ransfers of proprietorship----- 1,908.30F e e s f o r 1,449 certified documents----,----,---,-----,449.00Fees for Zl5notices of user recorded-: --------------- 2l5.00Fees fo r s ea rches made a t $1per ho ur of time consumed- li283.00

18,636 0

Since Ju ly 1,18!J7, the date of organization of the Copyright O i b ,the total registrations have been 6,406,555 and the total receipts farfees $8,221,540.70. The figures, year by year, appear in the followingtable:


6/18

4 REPORT OF THE RWSTEH OF COPYRIGHTS, 194Statement of Gnm Cash Receipts, Ysarly Feea, Number of Re&tratiaeu, Fne.,

for47Find Yau r

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189146.......................................................................89899 ,11oelwo..................................lMItblW1................................... . ......................................001-z1 .....................................lW-4.....................................w4-8.....................................1 ------+ ..........................1QO8-7--..-.---..-.------------------------1007-8.------..-..-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8190gg....................................lm-10 ..--.--.----------------------------l o l o - l l . ~ . . - . . - ~ - - ~ ~ - - ~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ - ~ ~ ~ - - ~ - - - - ~1911-12.-.-----.-.-----.----------------10l!&19--..-..-----------------------------~ i s - 1 4...................................1014-15 .-------.-------------------------191616--.-----..--.----------------------1016-17....................................IOIFU-; ..................................i e s io- . : .................................101+m....................................loPZl-..---.--..---.---------------------1m-a....................................1-? ...................................1M ....................................lo4c25................. ....-.............iosbas,-.-.---.---.---------------------i o z b n....................................1927-18....................................1 .-.-..---..--.----------------------imao....................................19X1-81 ....................................1 1 M 1.--..--.--..-----------------------108'HS....................................1m-M....................................1OSeea....................................KGB43..--..-..-..-.---.------------.-----1 9 ~ 3 7...................................l O S I ~...................................1W8-80........................................................................lW-41....................................1941-42..-.--..-..----------------------1 0 4 ~...................................1 ...................................

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EE??tratlonr....................-...................

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4,037..........l l om---,---------------l.4M..........7,Wl----------4, 61D4,no..-.................-.-...---..........

...............................-..-.-..-.....................81,W..........&la0

14,811......................-..--.-.%ass11,8!24-..-....................................

---em-----21,448~-

n A mWl,aO.Sa,n . m sbO,M6.%a4os.m7 1 , ~ . 9 1 .7h#nSam,44O.me e l a m8 185,cWmS 7 , W Ulla,eazea1l8,ssl.m

119.611wOW.al r ~ s s a al l46M65 .114dbb42lWeOBS1we, 106.~7ii7.1uaeeuaa7l.m14blOO.8ala==ls4,tm.m167,%911176,VfLlm,wasioi,aaie1 9==,aw o ~ a 7 a81&8U6.4199(.7lO.Yl4M.7M.8StRB1D.aaOa0,MbIIlS3,119.1111mn,ssa.ar8SO,468.878 4 1 1 . 17 1 . 8 6SWilalaS824,bOaQOW n 0 . M.--

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4423usao..........m6 . ~ 1s 0 4 S l c10,244/3ao'am- -SS-

6,1246788- - - -am-----.----. 774.................:-am1a.w47M8.m

lQ8laU,[email protected],nn:qaas9,014---------i ~ m.1 - - -.

1 . m$W1 / 1 1........6 . m8 , 8 8 386601,686...........

YrmLwW , ~ a O&!267.Wwpbw63W.M61m.wam^

7!&saO.W76,olW.wea.lmaa846M.W8%,8e7.W68,81676104eUoa.la,Ola.oa

114-M114QJQBm 2 1 e . m .ll&O!ZL7Sl%QW811

. 11QQn.40i o 8 . 8 ~ 011%iiawl z a . 4 ~ ~ ~ ~ .lM.61616malala14e.PT.wl(qMC0016ll000.M1-m.mw.m.a,1.-998.1)0m , a wa0,414.&laBQOa00may)1 m 1 . m?llO,881.702 8 hB 4 p hOOl e o . ~ 1 , 4 0*m.ao808,704.40820.08290847,- 011,1!8.10~ ~ 7 0810,rSasO

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7464580,968w mW 1 1earn0 7 , m.

lml3 0. . llS,S74,n 7 , m .W891 1 0 7lao.Ul41141m

' , ,1249511 ;i z a , i ~1 1 h WllS,W11 'i y mma2l 4m.mas148,916l e a l 4186,848in,=IWIOIJ103.014161,W.i nm184,6421P1,WUQ.047142,Wl1W-1 6 4 , ~ ~ -1es.mllb ls l l '178.W1W:6(7lB!2,8sa'learn-

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7/18

REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, 1944 5Copyright Deporik

The tots1 number of separate articles deposited in compliance withthe copyright law, which were registered during the fiscal year, is260,338. The number of articles in each class for the last five fiscslyears is shown in the table which follows:Number of artidem depaaited during the fiaul7 940 to 1944, ipelruke

During the last fiscal year 1,e orh were received in responseto requesta addressed to delinquent copyright owners, and in addition20 works were received within the demand period where officiddemands were made, making a total of 1,686.

The number of works received in response to requests for oopieasent to delinquent copyright owners again shows a decrease over thepreceding fiscal year. This is due to the fact that fewer requestshave been sent out, since fewer cases of delinquency have been calledto the attention of the Copyright Cjtfica by the Chrd Division, md

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Subjectmatter oleopyrigbt

BOOM(a) Prlntd In the United BE.-:Boob proper---.-.-......---------Prnpbleta,k?detl, etc.-----.-.---C o n e l b l l t i o ~ o Ilewrp.oas dpcalodlals--. -- -- - - -

Total.. .. . - -.-.--- ---- -- -(b ) mtd abmd In a loreign luwaam.-(el Exlglbb Wrnb rqbtaed ior dintalm a~~yr jght--..-..--.-------

T O ~-.....---....--------------P f f b d W--...--..--.-------------...---...C ~ , m m o m , e t c--....-....-...-------.D r u n a t i c o r d r a m ~ m ~ ~ c a m p a l t l m u .~ r ~ h a o o m p a l u ~ ~-.---..----------------Mapa.-..-.---.-....---------------------W orb ofar t .mot l d r ,ard ~ i grn..--.......-~~-oftmhofut .--.-..---....--Draw- rn plst lc wa rb of 8 deatida orteobnh.lohureta...-..-...---------------Photcsrwlu------ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

~ ~ ~ h h t a , h b & , d p ~ ~ b a rarMotba~ietun,pbob~l.JI-.--..-......-.-.-MotlonpMurslmtphotopkyl-....-.-..- ---.

TOW -......-.-....-------------------.

76,m88,788L6,WOLOO9114419a19!4,6141,80)

1 6 , I1,ZB%aB(-ge

74ma86,849906ae4,190m,w~ 4 6 2q m .am488,1

16,820LtgldSaw.

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iiana80,1116Lm7,063am8.M4,014w8.08141057 , U1,863LEU8


8/18

6 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF. COPI'RIGHTS, 194 4through other channels of inforina tion; i t encourages the hope th atthe efforts of the Office to secure compliance with the law in thisrespect are meeting with some success. Howev er, as observed in pre-vious Annua l Reports, there i s good reason to believe th at there a restill many cases in which works are published with copyright notice,of which neither the Co pyright Office nor any other depa rtment of th eLib rary can possibly have a complete knowledge an d in connection withwhich the copyright owner makes no attempt whatsoever to meet the'requirements of Section 12 of th e Copy righ t Act.Du rin g th e fiscal year a total of 164,741 curr ent a rticles depositedhave been transferred to th e collections of t he Li brary of Congress.T h i s ~ i u m b e rnclude d 40,747 books, 103,200 perio dica l n umb ers, 17,631pieces of music, 908 maps, and 2,255 photographs and engravings.

Under authority of Section 59 of the Act of March 4, 1909, 1,830books were transferred during the fiscal year to other governmentallibraries in the Dis trict of Columbia. Und er this trans fer, up toJu ne 30,1944, the following libraries have since 1909 received th e totalnumber of books indicated below :Department of Agriculture, 4,717; Department of Commerce,23,076 ;Nnvy Department, 1,879;Treasury Department, 1,496;Officeof E ducation , 22,855; F ede ral T ra de Com mission, 35,075; B ureau ofSta nd ard s, 2,094; Arm y M edical Libr ary , 10,723; MTalter Reed Hos-pital, 52,884; Engineer School, Corps of Engineers, 3,202; Soldiers'Home, 1,600; Puhlic Library for the District of Columbia, 64,147. Anumber of other libraries have received a smaller number of books.* I n ll, 196,366 volumes have been thu s distributed duri ng th e last 3years.T h e Copyright Act authorizes the return to copyright claimants ofde'posits not transferred to the collections of the Library, and formany years a large amo unt of material was thu s disposed of. F o r,some time pas t a different policy ha s prevailed and no deposits havebeen returned except motion picture films. These it has been fou ndundesirable to retain because of their inflammable character and thepresent inadequacy of storage facilities. The y are therefore returnedt o their depositors on the da y of the ir receipt, aft er the necessaryexamination and recording. Du rin g the fiscal yea r 1944,3,311 motionpic tur e films, most of th em co nsisting of severa l reels each, were th uswithdrawn. Un der an agreement wi th their producers, referred toin previous An nual Reports, o ne copy of each such film is subsequently,made available upon demand fo r permanent retention by the Lib raryof Con-


9/18

Section 12 of the Copyright. Act provides for deposit of copies of-published works promptly after publication. Because of the needof the Library of Congess for the earliest possible deposit, a pro-cedure was adopted in September 1940, by which copies may be de-posited in advance of publication, one copy being immediately turnedover to the Library for processing, while the other copy is held in th eCopyright Office to be registered when the data of publication arrives.The total number of t itles received by pre-publication deposit sincethe plan was adopted is 5,526, an average of 120 a month. Efforts toincrease the participation of publishers in the plan have not been verysuccessful, and the average number of titles thus deposited during thepast year has been only 106 a month, the majority coming from sixleading publishen. Expenditures ,

The total expenditure for salaries in the Copyright Office duringthe fiscal year was $302,915.38. Expenditures for stationery, postage,and transportation amounted to $1,487.65. The cost of printing theCatdog of Copyrighf En,tries and bulletins of decisions of the courts,so fa r as i t can now be determined on the basis of bills paid and4-mates where bills have not yet come from the Public Pr inter, is placed ,a t $18,688.99. The cost of "Printing and Binding, General," for theuse of the Copyright Office, was approximately $6,222.49. The otalof all these expenditures is, therefore, to be estimated a t $330,002.80.Accounk

On July 7, 1944, the books of the Copyright Office were balancedfor June, the accounts fo r the fiscal year were closed, and the neces-sary financial statements completed for the Treasury Department.Correspondence

- The volume of work under this head showed an increase correspond-ing, of CO U B ~ , to the increase in the number of registrations, as copy-right business is transacted almost entirely through the mails. Incom-ing letters and pircels were 210,974 as against 206,375, and outgoingletters and parcels 232,974 compared with 228,672 for the preceding ,


10/18

REPORT OF THE REGISTER O F C O P Y R I G H T S , 1944Recording, Certification, and Indexing of Copyright8

On July 1, 1940 a new system of recording and certifying copy-rights was introduced, as explained in my predecessor's Annual Reportfor that fiscal year. The form of certificate then adopted was basedon a Patent OffiCe form which, while acceptable to attorneys, has beencriticized by some publishers on account of it s size and typography.A smaller form is in process of gradual adoption, which will save aboutone-third in the amount of paper used and may be more satisfactoryin appearance.

The number of index cards made and filed during the fiscal yearwas 551,712 and of applications filed 157,694. The large increase inthe first of these figures (over 100,000 above the preceding year) isattributable to the number of titles of copyrighted works containedin vesting orders of the Alien Property Custodian, which of coursehave to be hdexed in some way to permit adequate searching. Thetotal number of such titles now comes to the formidable figure of185,102 since the filing of the vesting orders began. Until recentlythese were indexed under authors as well as under titles and claimantsso that two or three cards were required for each title. It now seemspossible to eliminate all but the title cards, and this is being done, butthere are at present 146,690 titles to be indexed and vesting orderscontinue to be received from the Alien Property Custodian, so that itwill bevery desirable to overcome the arrearage by the use of temponaryemployees, if they can be secured.

I t is also desired to resume, as soon as possible, active work on theconsolidation of the old copyright indexes. Little has been done onthis during the past year because of lack of labor. The work of con-solidating the indexes for book entries, comprising approximately2,300,000 cards, was completed about a year ago except for a residue .of problem cases, calling for a final clean-up, which will not take long.Some work has also been done on the indexes for periodicals. It isdesired, however, to proceed next with consolidation of the indexes fo rmusic registrations, as this is the largest and mod important class,except for books. Additional clerical servica will be needed forthis task.

Clement L. Bouw 'Colonel Bouv6 retired from the position of Register of Copyrights

on December 31, 1943. He died suddenly on January 14, 1944. H idistinguished career before his appointment on August 1,1986 is da


11/18

REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF CO PY RI GH m, 1944 9scribed in the Znfomnuth Bd k t i n of th e Library of Congress fo rJ anua r y 18, 1944, and addi t ional detaik regardin g his l i fe and workare to be found in th e notice of his death i n the WashingtonS u wRtar of Jan ua ry 16,1944 and in "Who'eW h n A d a , 9&%19&.*Special Orde r No.,7l of January 6, 1944 also deals briefly w ith thecha racte r of Colondl Bouv6's service,Colonel BouviYs kdministration of t h e C op yrig ht Office was n otableboth fo r improvem ents which he ma de in the organizdtion of the 0fficaand for his constant and energetic endeavor to obtain strict cornpli-ance with th e conditions and forma lities laid down by th e copy rightstatutes fo r securing an d main taining copyright. Colonel Bouvh'sprecjecessors in office were ac tua ted in gr ea t degree by a d esire to pro.mote a sense of l i terary property and a respect for the rights ofauthors; his own guid ing principle was th at of the trained and con-scientious lawyer w ho feels that the provisions of the statu tes should

' be always borne in mind an d obeyed. Am ong th e improvements intro-duced by Colonel B o u d in th e adm inistration of th e Office may bementioned the creation of an organized legal staff, the establishmen tof an Ex amin ing Section to pas s i n the fi rs t i ns tance upon a l l a p w -tions for c opyrigh t registration in accordance w ith specific rules andinstructions, and the formation of a Revisory Board composed of at-torneys an d o ther experienced employees to act finally on applica tionsinitially rejected or those presenting unusual problems of law orprocedure. Th e result of these improvem ents in organization hasbeen t o stand ardize the p ractice of t he Office an d to establish a body ~of precedents looking toward a more careful and consistent ap pl ie -tion of the provisions of th e copyrigh t law and of the rules for regis-tration. .

Personnel- .Richard C. DeWolf, sometime Assistant Register of Copyrights,was appointed Actin g Register of Co pyrigh ts to succeed ColonelBouv6 on January 1, 1944. Th e posit ion of A ssistant Register thu sleft vacant was filled by the promotion of Herbert A. Howell, whoreturned to du ties which ha d been hfficiently performed by him fo rseveral years before his retireme nt in the lat ter pa rt of 1941. Follow-in g Mr. Howell's promotion, Simon Lasica assumed the position of

Associate Attorney, formerly fil led by Mr. H o w d .Othe r imp ortant changes in personnel have been the retirement onDecember 1,1943 of M aud C. Bra dy and the appointment on March 1,1944 of William P. Siegfried as Executive assistan t.


12/18

-10 I REPORT OF TEE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHT%, 1946Mrs. Brady entered the service of the Copyright Office on Novem- I

bbr 16, 1914 and was advanced to positions of much responsibility,including in turn Chief of the Certificate Division, Chief of the Indexand Cataloging Division, Chief Coordinator, and Special Assistant to -th0 Register of Copyrights, including membership of the RevisoryBoard. Mrs.BradyYsong service was characterized by marked execu- ,t i ~ ebility and conscientious attention to detail. The employees whoserbed under her owe much to the high standards of accuracy andindustry which she always urged upon them.Id-. iegfried's many years of experience in nearly all phaseaof Copyright O5ce work and his satisfactory service as Junior Admin-istrative Assistant qualified him for the larger responsibilities of thenewly-created position of Executive Assistant which he is efficientlyhandling.While the stringent labor situation produced by the war has resultedin e continued deficiency in the number of employees in the Copyright(Mice, averaging during the past year about 20, there has beeh some -recent improvement, and the office has been able in part to overt&the arrearage of work which had accumulated. The outlook forbfuture in this respect is more encouraging than it was at the end ofthe ast fiscal year.

The series of Copyright Office bulletins cdntaining decisions of theUnited States courts involving copyright was continued by the issuance -on, October 11,1943 of Bulletin 23 containing cases decided during the' asecond half of 1939 through 1940. This bulletin also co n th s two ,opinions of the Attorney Gegeral relating to fees to be paid for regis-tration of prints and labels and, as an appendix, a casedecided by the

, United States Supreme Court subsequent to the period covered by thebulletin, namely, Fred FGher Mmic Oo., Inc., t a? :M . Witmark&Sons (318 U. S. 643; 57 U. S. P. Q 50), which was included out of'its normal order because of its immediate importance. The copy farthe next bulletin of copyright cases, No. 24, went to the 'Public Printe ron June 28. This bulletin will 'contain eases reported during 1941'through 1943. .Proclamation of the President under the Act of September 25,1941- ,

,.' This long-expected proclamation, extending on behalf of Bf it ishf7nationals'and citizens of Edestim the t h e - f o r secudg i d p & W, .


13/18

REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIQHTB, 19 4 4 .11copyright and renewal of copyright, was issued March 10, 1944. Itseffect is to prolong indefinitely the period of 00 days provided for' 'deposit of an En glish book in the Cop yrigh t Office to secure ad interimcopyrigh t and similarly to extend the period of fo ur months with inwhich the book must be re-manufactured in the United States. Theperiod of one year before the expiration of the first term of copyrigh twithin which application for renewal must be made is likewiae in-d d n it el y extended. I n other words, for the works to which it applies,all time limits fixed by the law for securing ad interim or renewalcopyrigh ts are abrogated un til th e President revokes th e proclamation.T he proclamation, however, does not a pply t o the B ritish self-govern-in g dominions. A B ritish Ord er in Council, effective on the samedate , gran ts reciprocal rights.The texts of the Proclamation and of the Order in Council havebeen printed by the Copy right Office as Inf on nat w n Cir rm la~ 4. Amimeographed circular of the sam e number, explaining th e effect ofth e proclamation, has also been issued.

1 Copyright Bills in Congrerr \The' following bills relating to copyright were introduced duringth e fiscal year, but none of the m w as reported ou t of committee:a. . 3672?, 8th Congress, Fi rs t Session. "A Bil l to amend theTrading with the Enemy Act, as amended, and for other purposes."Introduced by Mr. Gearhart on November 15, 1943, and referred toth e Comm ittee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.This bill provides, inter dia, for the prompt sale by the Alien

Property Custodian of enemy patents, trade-marks and copyrightsvested in him, w ith certain exemptions, and for the regulation of feespaid for the use of such patents, tra de -m ar b and copyrights.E. Res. @O, 78th Congress, Second Sesawn. A resolution t o in-vestigate the extent to which the rights of persons engaged in art,literature, science, mechanics, and the pure and useful ar ts in theiroriginal though ts, conceptions, and ideas. leading t o ,invention a nddiscovery have been and may be considered in law, equity, and com-'mon usage as property and proprietary rights, and the extent towhich such persons have been or may reasonably be protected in thecommercial or other use of such original thoughts, conceptions, andideas; to report th e results of such investigation, together with rec-ommendations for necessary legislation to protect for a limited timethe property an d prop rietary rights of such persons in their original


14/18

I 2 REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, 1044thoughts, conceptions, and ideas leading to invention and discovery.Submitted by Mr. Plumley on January 27, 1944, and referred toth e C ommittee on Rules.H. R. 4@ 8,78th Congress, Second Session. "A Bi ll to codify andenact into absolute law title 17 of th e Un ited State s Code, entitle d'Copyrights'." Intro duc ed by Mr. Keogh on March 14, 1944, an dreferred to the Com mittee on Revision of th e Laws.H. Res. 504 ,78th Congress, Secon d Session. "A resolution to inves-tigate the question of effective legal protection fo r property and pro-prietary rights and ownership in original thoughts, conceptions, andideas in art, literature, science, mechanics, and the pure and usefularts." Substan tially identical with H. Res. 420.Submitted by Mr. Arends on April 18, 1944, and referred to theCommittee on Rules.H. R. 4641, 78th Congress , Second S e s h . "A Bil l to amend sec-tion 4 of the Act entitled 'An Act to transfer jurisdiction over com-mercial prints and labels, for the purpose of copyright registration,to th e Registe r of Copyrights,' ap proved July 31,1939." Intro duc edby Mr. Lanham on April 20, 1944, and referred to the Committeeon. Patents.S. 2039, 78th Congress, Second Session. . "A Bil l to permit theUnited State s Government to use certain copyright material in fu r -therance of th e national defense; to permit the Librarian of Congress

to make and furnish copies thereof for such purpose and to makeend furnish any person a copy of copyrighted material for the pur-pose of private research; and for other purposes." Introduce d byMr. Luc'ols on June 23, 1944, and referred to the Committee on theLibrary.Recent Important Decisions of th e Courts in Copyright Casea

Th e decisions of Circu it Courts of Appeals and of th e United Sta tesSuprem e Court briefly summarized below a ppe ar in Bulletins 23 and24 of the Cop yrig ht Office. Bulletin 23 is now available fo r distrib u-tion. Bulletin 24 was in the hands of th e printer before the end ofthe fiscal year an d will appe ar in t he near future.Taylor In a tm m n t Companies v. Fawley-Brost Company (139 Fed.Rep. 98; in Bulletin 24). The Circuit Court of Appeals (7th Cir.)held tha t ch arts for recording temperatures w ere not copyrightable,and therefore not entitled t o be registered as drawin gs of a scientificor technical character, or in any other class mentioned in the Ad.


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REPORT OF THE REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, 1044 13The co urt was of th e opinion th at such charts are objects of use andnot explanation or instruction, being essential mechanical elementsof the instrum ents on which they are used, and hence come within thedoctrine of Baker v. Selden, in which the Supreme Court long agodenied copyright to blank forms essential to the operation of a systemof bookkeeping. Th e Suprem e Court declined to issue a writ of cer-tiorar i to review t he case.Sh ilk ret v. Mw ic ra ft Records, Zno. (131 Fed . 2d 929; i n Bulletin I24). He re the Circuit Court of Appeals (2d Cir.), overruling thelower court, held th at the first proviso to Section 1 e) of the Copy-right Act securing copyright control of mechanical reproduction ofmusic, published and copyrighted after July 1,1909, applies equallyto both unpublished and published musical works. Reasoning a pion',the court concluded that, notwithstanding th e language used, it wasnot th e purpo se of t he proviso to effect a discrimination between t h etwo bu t merely to confine the rig ht of mechanical reproduction to com-positions copyrighted afte r the effective da te of the Act. Th e Su-preme C ourt refused to issue a writ of certiorari t o review the decision.F red F i sher Mw i c Co., Znc., et al v. M=.Witm rk:& Sons (318 U. S.643; 57U. S.P. Q. 50; in Appendix to Bulletin 23). Under Section23 of the Copyright Act a copyright in a musical composition las ts for28 years, and th e autho r can renew th e copyright if h e is still living,by filing an application for rbnewal within a year before the expira-tion of the first 28-year period. Und er Section 42 a copyright maybe assigned, whether it be the o riginal cbpyright or th e renewal copy-right, aft er,i t has been secured. Bu t can the author, before th e renewalyear arrives, bind himself by contract to assign away his interest inthe renewal copyright after he has subsequently secured i t? I n t hi scase the Supreme Court, affirming the C ircuit Court of Appeals (2dCir.), answered the question in the affirmative.Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corp. (309 U. S. 390; in Bul- .letin 23). Section 25 (b ) of the Ac t provides th at a copyright in-fr inger shall be liable: "To p a r o the copyright proprietor suchdamages as the copyright proprietor may have suffered due to theinfringement, a s well as a& the profits which the infrin ger s hall havemade from such infringement . . . ." The Circuit Court of Ap-peals for the Second Circuit had held th at th e defendant was entitledto deduct from the profits payable to plaintiff such profits as camefrom their efforts and expenditures, including the selection of theactors, the pre paration of scenery and costumes, the h irin g of theaters,etc., etc. Th is resulted in reducing th e profits recoveraMe by ploin-


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14 REPORT OF TH E REGISTER OF COPYRIGETS, 1944tiff to one-fifth of the total net profits. The Supreme Court granted

' certiorari and rendered an opinion a$rming the judgment of the Cir-cuit Court of A ppeals.Respectfully submitted,RICHARD. DEWOW,Acting Register of Copyr ighk .


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PUBLICATIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT OFFICENOTE.-Orders for the followink uhlicatiom (except t h m isted M free, whiahmay be obtained from the copyngRt Ofice) should be a d d m d o the Superin-

tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., accompanied by remittance (postagestamps not accepted-coin a t sender's rbk).BULLETIN NO. 3. Cloth, 35c.Copyright Enactments of the United States, 1783-1906. 2d ed. rev.,174 p 80. 1906.BULLET~NNO. 8. Cloth, 650Copxright in Congress, i789-1904. A bibliography and chronologicalrecord of all proceedings in. Congress in relation to copyright. 468 pp.80. 1905.BUL LETIN NO. 14. Paper, 15c.Copyright Law of t he United Sta tes of America, being the ac t of March 4,1909 (in force July 1, 1909), as amended by the acts of August 24, 1912,March 2, 1913, March 28, 1914, December 18, 1919, July 3, 1926, May 23,1928, January 27, 1938, July 31, 1939, March 15, 1940, April 11, 1940, an dSeptember 25, 1941, together with Rules for Practice and Procedure undersection 25, by the Supreme Court of the United States. vi, 76 pp. 801942.BULLE TIN NO. 17. Cloth, 85c.

Decisions of the United S t a b courts involving copyright. 1909-1914.Second enlarged edition. vi, 279 pp. 80. 1928.BULLETIN NO. 18. Cloth, $1.Decisions of the Unlted State s courts invplving copyright. 1914-1917.ix, 605 p. 80. Re rinted 1938.B U L L E T I ~ O. 19. Cfoth, 81.Decisions of the United Sta tes courts involving capyright. 1918-1024.xi, 477 p. 80. 1926.B U L L E T I ~ O. 20. Cloth, $1.60Decisions of the United ~ts'tescourte involving copyright. 1924-1936.xiii, 947 p 80. 1936.BULLETIN $0. 21. Cloth, lScDecisions of the United s t a t e courts involving copyright. 1935-1937vii, 355 p 80. 1938.BULLETIN Ro. 22. Cloth, 7512Decisions of the United i tat es courts involving copyright. 193'8-June1939. vii, 327 pp. So. 1939.BULLETIN NO. 23. Cloth, $1.00.Decisions of t he United States courts involving copyright. 1939-1940.vii. 391 p 80. 1943.BULLETIN Ro. 24. Cloth, $2.00.Decisions of the United Sta tes courts involving copyright . 1941-1943.ix, 683 pp. 8". 1944.CATALOG OF COPYRIGHT ENTRIES OF BOOKS AND OTHERARTICLES REGISTER ED UNDER THE COPYRIGHT LAW. Sub-scriptions, $10 per year. Also obtainable in sections as follows:Pa rt I. Group 1. Books. Monthly, with annual index (13 nos.). $3 peryear.Part I, Group 2. Pamphlets, leaflets, contributions to newspapem oreriodicals, etc., lectures, sermons addresses for oral delivery, mapa.%onthly, with annual index (13 nos.j, $3 per year.Part I, Group 3. Dramatic composit~ons,motion pictunes. Monthly,with annual index (13 nos.), $2 per year.Part 11. Periodicals. Quarterly with annual index (4 nos.). $2 per year.Part 111. hlusical compositions. Monthly, with annual index (13 noe.),$3 per year.Part IV . Works of ar t, reproductions of a work of ar t, drawings or plastioworm of a scientific or te ch ia al char r hotogmphs, printa and pictoridillu stra tion Monthly, with annu.l.%i :%3nor ) S 2G r )**..15


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C O D E O F F E D E R A L R E G U L A T IO N S O F T H E C O P Y R I G H T O FF IC E .Free.Title 37. C h a ~ t e r 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations as amended toOctober 1,'1941. 16 -1942.COPYRIGHT C O N V E ~ ~ O NETWEEN THE UNITED STATES ANDO T H E R A M E R I C A N R E P U BL IC S , S I G N E D A T B U E N O S A I R E B ,Au ust 11, 1910. 7 pp. 1942. Free.D R A ~ A T I C COMPOSITIONS COPYRIGHTED IN THE UNITEDS T A T E S , 1870-1916. Clobh, $4.Over 60,000 titles alphabetically arranged, with cornple& index to authore,pro rietors, translators, etc. 2 vols, v, 3,547 pp. 40. 1918INFORKATIONI R C U L A R 4. Free.Text of th e Convention creat ing an International Union for th e Protect ionof Lite rarv a nd A rtistic Works, signed a t Berne, 1886. ratif ied 1887. Amend-ments agrked t o at Par is , 1896: 13 pp. 40. .I N F O R M A T I O N C I R C U L A R 4A . F re e.Tex t of th e Convention creat ing an International Union for the Protect ionof Literary a nd A r t ist ic W orks , s igned a t Ber lin, 190s. (English an d Frenohtexts.) 10 p 4O.INFORMATIOI?CIRCULAR 4B . F'ree.

fl Addi tional p ro tocol to the ~ nte r na t ion a lCopyright Convention of Berlin,1908. signed at Rerne, 1914. (En l ish and French texts .) 2 pp. 40.I N F O R M A T I O N C I R C U L A R 4C . #m.Convention c r ea tinq an I n te r na tiona l Union f or the P r o tec t ion of L i t e r qand Ar tis tic works , egne d a t Ber l in, 1908; revised, and signed at Rome,J u n e 2, 1928. (English translation wi th official Frenc h text, an d Appendix.)- - -14 p 4O.PROCLI~ATIONF THE PRESIDENT E X T E N D I N G THE TIME FQRO B T A I N I N G C O P Y R I G H T F O R W O R K S B Y B R I T I S H N A T I O N A L Sa n d B R I T IS H O R D E R I N C O U N C I L E X T E N D I N G F O R A M E R I C A NA U T HO R S T I M E F O R C O M P L I A N C E W I T H B R I T I S H C O P Y R I G H TACT. 4 pp. 1944. Free.