The authorities as to the prohibition of importation in other countries are fully given in a statement from the Librarian of Congress made part of the printed record of the third hearing before the Patents Committees at Washington, March 26-28, 1908, which includes the text of the opinion in Pitt Pitts _v_. George as the leading English case. {Sidenote: International practice} The Berne convention of 1886 provided (art. XII) that "every infringing (_contrefait_) work may be seized on importation into those countries of the Union where the original work has right to legal protection," which was modified by the amendatory act of Paris, 1896, to read "may be seized by the competent authorities of the countries of the Union." The Berlin convention continues in article 16 the later phraseology, and adds, "in these countries seizure may also be made of reproductions coming from a country where the work is not protected or protection has ceased." All three conventions include also the proviso that the seizure shall take place conformably to the domestic legislation of each country. This phraseology apparently leaves the prohibition of editions authorized for other countries as an open question to be determined under the domestic legislation or practice of each country. The Pan American convention of Buenos Aires, 1910, provides (art. 14): "Every publication infringing a copyright may be confiscated in the signatory countries in which the original work had the right to be legally protected, without prejudice to the indemnities or penalties which the counterfeiters may have incurred according to the laws of the country in which the fraud may have been committed." XVII COPYRIGHT OFFICE: METHODS AND PRACTICE {Sidenote: History of Copyright Office} Under the early American copyright laws, copyright entries and deposits were made in the clerk's office of the respective District courts and there was no central copyright office. The deposit copies were not properly cared for, but what remained were collected into the vaults of the national Capitol when copyright administration was centralized in the Library of Congress. Under the law of 1870, the Librarian of Congress was made the copyright officer, and for many years Ainsworth R. Spofford, occupying that position, personally recorded entries and did much of the work. Before the close of his administration of the Library, and while it was still housed in the Capitol, the copyright business required the services of a staff including at the last twenty-four persons. By a special act of 1897, the office of Register of Copyrights was created, subject to the authority of the Librarian of Congress, who remains the ultimate administrative authority. The code of 1909 provided also for an assistant register of copyrights. The Copyright Office now occupies the southern end of the ground floor in the new Library building and the staff has increased to eighty-four persons. {Sidenote: Routine of registration}