Copyright: Its History and Its LawBowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
History
Copyright: Its History and Its Law
Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
Copyright -- History; Copyright -- United States -- History
On the other hand, in the case of Brady _v._ Daly, which came before the
U. S. Supreme Court in 1899, the defendants, on a question of
jurisdiction, raised the issue that the old law provided for a penalty
and not for damages, in denying which Justice Peckham held that: "The
statute in using the word 'damages' did not mean a forfeiture or
penalty, as it is difficult to prove the exact amount which the
proprietor of a play may suffer by reason of an infringement. It is
probable that Congress intended to provide a remedy so that the
proprietor could recover a certain amount of damages without proof of
what his actual loss had been. In the face of the difficulty of
determining the amount of damages, a minimum sum is provided in any
case, with the possibility of recovering a larger amount on proof of
greater damage. The idea of punishment is not so much suggested as the
desire to provide for compensation to the proprietor." This rule was
applied by Judge Lacombe in Patterson _v_. Ogilvie, in 1902.
{Sidenote: Other procedure decisions}
In the case of Falk _v._ Curtis Pub. Co., which came before the U. S.
Circuit Court in Pennsylvania twice in 1900, some important decisions or
indications as to copyright procedure were given. The defense that under
the copyright act the words "any person" did not include a corporation
was overruled by Judge Dallas on the ground that the general statute
specifically construed the word "person" to extend to partnerships and
corporations. In this case an action to recover penalties and an action
to replevin copies in possession were started independently and
simultaneously, and the Circuit Court of Appeals through Judge
Buffington affirmed the decision that as the penalties under the old act
were restricted to copies "found in possession," the suit for penalties
was premature. In the later case of Rinehart _v._ Smith, also in the
Pennsylvania circuit, it was pointed out that an action for replevin was
not the proper form of suit because in such actions bonds might be given
and the forfeiture of copies thus be barred; and in Hegeman _v._
Springer, the Circuit Court in New York held, in 1901, that a replevin
suit, involving prior demand, was not necessary and that the copyright
statute itself gave authority for an action for seizure without previous
demand, as would be necessary in replevin proceedings. It was held,
however, in the Illinois circuit in an earlier case, that a suit of
replevin will lie to enforce forfeiture under the copyright act. Several
of these perplexities, however, are removed by the code of 1909, which
expressly (sec. 27) authorizes the bringing together of all the remedies
in one action.
{Sidenote: Preventive action}
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