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
Great Britain became a signatory power of the Berne convention of 1886,
and the international copyright act of 1886, amending and in part
repealing the previous international copyright acts, was passed to
enable Her Majesty through Orders in Council to become a party to this
convention, which was ratified in 1887. This was made effective with
respect to the eight other countries which were parties to the original
Berne convention by the Order in Council of November 28, 1887, taking
effect December 6, 1887. The provisions of 1886 made registration and
deposit unnecessary for foreign works which had complied with the
formalities requisite in the country of origin, but it was nevertheless
held in Fishburn _v._ Hollingshead, in 1891, by Justice Stirling, that a
foreign work must comply with the provisions of the copyright acts
applicable, as to registration and delivery, to works first produced in
the United Kingdom, since a foreign work was entitled only to the
protection afforded to natives. In Hanfstaengl _v._ Holloway, in 1893,
Justice Charles took the opposite view, and he was supported by the
Court of Appeal in Hanfstaengl _v._ American Tobacco Company, in 1894,
which decided finally that the acts of 1842 and 1844 were repealed as to
foreign works and that registration and deposit of a foreign work were
unnecessary. The decision of the Court of Appeal in 1908, in Sarpy _v._
Holland, that notice of reservation may be in foreign languages,
confirmed the provisions that no formalities beyond those in the country
of origin were requisite.
{Sidenote: Effect of Berne convention}
With the development of the International Copyright Union, through the
Berne convention of 1886, copyright relations between the leading
countries became more largely and truly international, and most of the
existing treaties of the unionist countries were superseded by the
international convention proper. In accordance, however, with the terms
of the convention, treaties broader than the provisions of the
convention might still remain in force or be later negotiated between
one country and another, and such conventions, on the "most favored
nation" basis or otherwise, have in fact been negotiated, especially by
Germany, within the present century. The arrangement for protection of
foreign works in unionist and other countries, under special treaties,
will be found in succeeding chapters on copyright in foreign countries,
where treaties broader than the international convention or made since
1900 are also scheduled. The main features of international copyright
arrangements are tabulated in condensed form in the conspectus of
copyright by countries given in the preliminary pages.
{Sidenote: International literary congresses}
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