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
{Sidenote: Translations in international relations}
The American provisions as to translations apply with especial
importance to international relations. "The original text of a book of
foreign origin in a language or languages other than English" is
copyrightable in America without manufacture here; and such a work, duly
copyrighted, can only be translated into English or any other language
by authority of the foreign author or his assigns, and such translation
in English or any other language can be copyrighted only when
manufactured in this country as provided in the act. If the original
text of a foreign work is not duly copyrighted under the American law,
then translation is open to any one and copyright can be secured only
for the particular translation copyrighted, as above stated, and this
cannot prevent independent translation into the same or any other
language. Thus, a German original duly copyrighted may not be translated
into English, French, or any other language without authority of the
copyright proprietor, nor can an English translation be made, for
instance, from a French translation of the copyrighted work; but any
number of translations of the copyrighted German work into English or
any other language may be separately copyrighted under the American law,
subject to the manufacturing clause, if duly authorized by the copyright
proprietor, and each translator could only prevent the copying of his
particular translation or the translation of his own version into
another language.
{Sidenote: Foreign translators}
A translation can be copyrighted by a translator only in case he is a
citizen of a country with which the United States has copyright
relations or is a resident of this country; thus a Swedish translation
by a citizen of Sweden not resident in the United States could not be
copyrighted unless the translator had been "employed for hire" by the
author or proprietor of the original copyrighted work. If the entire
copyright of the original work had been sold by the author to a citizen
of Sweden, not a resident in the United States, it would seem to follow
that the latter could not copyright a translation though he might retain
the right to prevent unauthorized translation under the general
copyright which he had purchased. In the case of an authorized
independent translation made by a Swedish citizen not resident here, the
general notice of copyright of the original work might be utilized to
protect the translation, but in such case copies not manufactured in the
United States could not be imported into this country; while if such
authorized translation bore no copyright notice and were imported into
the United States by the author or with his consent, it is probable that
this translation, but not the original work or another translation from
either, would be freed from copyright protection.
{Sidenote: Abridgments}
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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