Copyright: Its History and Its Law

Article 15

Convention to take effect three months after ratification

The present Convention shall take effect between the signatory States that ratify it, three months from the day they communicate their ratification to the Mexican Government, and shall remain in force among all of them until one year from the date it is denounced by any of said States. The notification of such denouncement shall be addressed to the Mexican Government and shall only have effect in so far as regards the country which has given it.

Article 16

Adherence of nations not represented at 2d Int. Am. Conference

The Governments of the signatory states, when approving the present Convention, shall declare whether they accept the adherence to the same by the nations which have had no representation in the Second International American Conference.

In testimony whereof the Plenipotentiaries and Delegates sign the present Convention and set thereto the seal of the Second International American Conference.

Signed at City of Mexico, Jan. 27, 1902

Made in the City of Mexico, on the twenty-seventh day of January, nineteen hundred and two, in three copies written in Spanish, English, and French, respectively, which shall be deposited at the Department of Foreign Relations of the Government of the Mexican United States, so that certified copies thereof may be made, in order to send them through the diplomatic channel to the signatory States.

13. RIO DE JANEIRO CONVENTION, 1906

Convention, signed at Rio de Janeiro, August 23, 1906, to protect Patents of Invention, Drawings and Industrial Models, Trade-Marks, and Literary and Artistic PropertyArticle 1

Patents, trade-marks, copyrights

The subscribing nations adopt in regard to patents of invention, drawings and industrial models, trade-marks, and literary and artistic property the treaties subscribed at the Second International Conference of American States, held in Mexico on the 27th of January, 1902, with such modifications as are expressed in the present Convention.

Article 2

Union; Bureaus at Havana and Rio de Janeiro

A union is constituted of the nations of America, which will be rendered effective by means of two Bureaus, which will be maintained, one in the city of Havana and the other in that of Rio de Janeiro, each working closely with the other, to be styled Bureaus of the International American Union for the Protection of Intellectual and Industrial Property, and will have for their object the centralization of the registration of literary and artistic works, patents, trade-marks, drawings, models, etc., which will be registered, in each one of the signatory nations, according to the respective treaties and with a view to their validity and recognition by the others.

Registration optional

This international registration is entirely optional with persons interested, since they are free to apply, personally or through an attorney-in-fact, for registration in each one of the States in which they seek protection.

Article 3

Bureau at Havana

The Bureau established in the city of Havana will have charge of the registrations from the United States of America, the United States of Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, San Domingo, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Colombia.

Bureau at Rio de Janeiro

The Bureau established in the city of Rio de Janeiro will attend to the registrations coming from the republics of the United States of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentine Republic, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.

Article 4

Bureaus to be considered as one

For the purpose of the legal unification of the registration, the two International Bureaus, which are divided merely with a view to greater facility of communication, are considered as one, and to this end it is established that (a) both shall have the same books and the same accounts kept under an identical system; (b) copies shall be transmitted monthly from one to the other, authenticated by the Governments in whose territories they have their seat, of all the registrations, communications, and other documents affecting the recognition of the rights of proprietors or authors.

Article 5

Copies of registrations to be transmitted

Each one of the Governments adhering to the Union will send at the end of each month to the proper Bureau, according to Art. 3, authenticated copies of all registrations of trade-marks, patents, drawings, models, etc., and copies of the literary and artistic works registered in them, as well as of all lapses, renunciations, transfers, and other alterations occurring in proprietary rights, according to the respective treaties and laws, in order that they may be sent out or distributed and notice given of them as the case may be by the International Bureau to those nations in direct correspondence therewith.

Article 6

Bureaus to transmit certificates

The registration or deposit of drawings, models, etc., made in the country of origin according to the national law of the same and transmitted by the respective administration to the International Bureau, shall be by such Bureau laid before the other countries of the Union, by which it shall be given full faith and credit, except in the case provided for in Art. 9 of the Treaty on Patents, Trade-Marks, etc., of Mexico, and in case the requirements essential to the recognition of international property are lacking where literary or artistic works are involved according to the treaty thereon subscribed in Mexico.

Protection to be allowed or refused within one year

In order that the States forming the Union may accept or refuse the recognition of the rights granted in the country of origin, and for the further legal purposes of such recognition, such States shall be allowed a term of one year from the date of notification by the proper office for the purpose of so doing.

Notification in case protection is not allowed

In case patents, trade-marks, drawings, models, etc., or the right to literary or artistic works shall fail to obtain recognition on the part of any one of the offices of the States forming the Union, the International Bureau shall be made acquainted with the facts and reasons of the case in order that in its turn these facts may be transmitted by it to the office of origin and to the interested party, for proper action according to local law.

Article 7

Registration in country of origin to have same effect as registration in each country

Term of protection, that of country of origin

Every registration or recognition of intellectual and industrial rights made in one of the countries of the Union and communicated to the others according to the form prescribed in the preceding articles shall have the same effect that would be produced if said registration or recognition had taken place in all of them, and every nullification or lapse of rights occurring in the country of origin and communicated in the same form to the others shall produce in them the same effect that it would produce in the former.

If no term by law, then as specified

Copyright, 25 years after death of author

The period of international protection derived from the registration shall be that recognized by the laws of the country where the rights originated or have been recognized; and if said laws do not provide for such matters or do not specify a fixed period, the respective periods shall be: for patents, 15 years; for trade-marks or commercial designs, models, and industrial drawings, 10 years; for literary and artistic works, 25 years, counting from the death of the author thereof. The first two periods may be renewed at will by giving the same form as in the case of the first registration.

Article 8

Regulations to govern Bureaus

Expenses of Bureaus

The International Bureaus for the protection of intellectual and industrial property shall be governed by identical regulations, formed with the concurrence of the Governments of the Republics of Cuba and Brazil and approved by all the others belonging to the Union. Their budgets, after being sanctioned by the said Governments, shall be defrayed by all of the subscribing Governments in the same proportion established for the International Bureau of American Republics at Washington, and in this particular they shall be placed under the control of those Governments within whose territories they are established.

Registration fee, $5 American gold

To the tax on rights which the country of their origin collects for registration or deposit and other acts resulting from the recognition or guaranty of intellectual and industrial property, shall be added a fee of five dollars, American gold, which fee or the equivalent thereof in the currency of the country in which the payment is made shall be distributed in equal parts among the Governments in whose territory the International Bureaus shall be established, the sole object of this being to contribute to the maintenance of the said Bureaus.

Article 9

Functions of Bureaus:

In addition to the functions prescribed in the preceding articles, the International Bureaus shall have the following:

1. To collect and publish information

1st. To collect information of all kinds regarding the protection of intellectual and industrial property and to publish and circulate the same among the countries of America at proper intervals;

2. May publish official reviews

2nd. To encourage the study of questions regarding the said subjects, to which end they may publish one or more official reviews containing all documents forwarded to them by the offices of the subscribing countries;

3. To give notice of difficulties

3rd. To lay before the Governments of the Union any difficulties or obstacles that may arise in the efficacious application of the present Convention, and indicate means to correct or remove such difficulties or obstacles;

4. To originate and prepare for international conferences

4th. To help the Governments of the Union in the preparation of international conferences for the study and progress of legislation and intellectual and industrial properties, for alterations which it may be proper to introduce in the regulations of the Union or in the treaties in force on the said subject, and in case such conferences take place the directors of the Bureaus, not appointed to represent any countries, shall have a right to attend the meetings and express their opinions at them, but not to vote;

5. To make yearly report

5th. To present to the Governments of the countries where they shall have their seats a yearly report of their labors, which shall be communicated to all of the States of the Union;

6. To arrange for the exchange of publications, etc.

6th. To establish relations for the exchange of publications, informations and data conducive to the progress of the institution with similar bureaus, and institutions, and with scientific, literary, artistic, and industrial corporations of Europe and America;

7. To act as agent for each of the Governments concerned

7th. To coöperate as agent for each one of the Governments of the Union for the transaction of any business, the taking of any initiative, or the execution of any act conducive to further the ends of the present Convention with the offices of the other Governments.

Article 10

Registration required to replace provisions of treaties of 1902

The provisions contained in the Treaties of Mexico of January 27th, 1902, on patents of invention, drawings and industrial models, and commercial trade-marks, and on literary and artistic property, so far as regards the formalities of the registration or recognition of said rights in other countries than that of origin, shall be considered as replaced by the provisions of the present Convention as soon as one of the International Bureaus shall have been established, and only with regard to those States which have concurred in its constitution; in all other cases the said treaties shall remain in force and the present Convention shall be considered additional thereto.

Article 11

Cuba and Brazil to organize Copyright Bureaus

The Governments of the Republics of Cuba and the United States of Brazil shall proceed with the organization of the International Bureaus upon the ratification of this Convention by at least two-thirds of the nations belonging to each group mentioned in Article 3. The simultaneous establishment of both Bureaus shall not be necessary; one only may be established if there be the number of adherent Governments provided above, the Government in which the Bureau has its seat being charged with taking the proper steps to secure this result, availing itself of the powers contained in the eighth article.

Bureau first established to be used until second is organized

In the event that one of the two offices referred to in this Convention shall have been established, the countries belonging to a group other than that to which the Bureau corresponds shall have the right to join it until the second Bureau shall be established. Upon the establishment of the second Bureau the first Bureau shall transmit to the same all the data referred to in Article 12.

Article 12

Adhesions to treaty to be communicated to Brazil

As regards the adhesion of the American nations to the present Convention, it will be communicated to the Government of the United States of Brazil, which will lay it before the others, these communications taking the place of an exchange of notes.

Brazil to notify Bureau of each adhesion

The Government of Brazil will also notify the International Bureau of this adhesion, and this Bureau will forward to the newly adhering State a complete statement of all the marks, patents, models, drawings, and literary and artistic works registered which at the time shall be under international protection.

In testimony whereof the Plenipotentiaries and Delegates have signed the present Convention and affixed the seal of the Third International American Conference.

Signed at Rio de Janeiro, Aug. 23, 1906

Made in the City of Rio de Janeiro the twenty-third day of August, nineteen hundred and six, in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, and deposited with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United States of Brazil, in order that certified copies thereof be made and sent through diplomatic channels to the signatory States.

14. BUENOS AIRES CONVENTION, 1910

Convention on Literary and Artistic Copyright Signed at Buenos Aires, August 11, 1910Article 1

Union to protect literary and artistic property

The signatory States acknowledge and protect the rights of literary and artistic property in conformity with the stipulations of the present convention.

Article 2

Definition of "literary and artistic works"

In the expression "Literary and artistic works" are included books, writings, pamphlets of all kinds, whatever may be the subject of which they treat and whatever the number of their pages; dramatic or dramatico-musical works; choreographic and musical compositions, with or without words; drawings, paintings, sculpture, engravings; photographic works; astronomical or geographical globes; plans, sketches or plastic works relating to geography, geology or topography, architecture or any other science; and, finally, all productions that can be published by any means of impression or reproduction.

Article 3

Formalities

The acknowledgment of a copyright obtained in one State, in conformity with its laws, shall produce its effects of full right in all the other States without the necessity of complying with any other formality, provided always there shall appear in the work a statement that indicates the reservation of the property right.

Article 4

Definition of copyright

The copyright of a literary or artistic work includes for its author or assigns the exclusive power of disposing of the same, of publishing, assigning, translating, or authorizing its translation and reproducing it in any form whether wholly or in part.

Article 5

Authorship recognized

The author of a protected work, except in case of proof to the contrary, shall be considered the person whose name or well-known nom de plume is indicated therein; consequently suit brought by such author or his representative against counterfeiters or violators shall be admitted by the courts of the signatory States.

Article 6

Authors to enjoy rights secured in country of origin for like term

The authors or their assigns, citizens or domiciled foreigners, shall enjoy in the signatory countries the rights that the respective laws accord, without those rights being allowed to exceed the term of protection granted in the country of origin.

Works in parts or in several volumes

For works comprising several volumes that are not published simultaneously, as well as for bulletins, or parts, or periodical publications, the term of the copyright will commence to run, with respect to each volume, bulletin, part, or periodical publication, from the respective date of its publication.

Article 7

Country of first publication country of origin

The country of origin of a work will be deemed that of its first publication in America, and if it shall have appeared simultaneously in several of the signatory countries, that which fixes the shortest period of protection.

Article 8

Subsequent editions non-copyright

A work which was not originally copyrighted shall not be entitled to copyright in subsequent editions.

Article 9

Translation protected

Authorized translations shall be protected in the same manner as original works.

Translators of works concerning which no right of guaranteed property exists, or the guaranteed copyright of which may have been extinguished, may obtain for their translations the rights of property set forth in Article 3d but they shall not prevent the publication of other translations of the same work.

Article 10

Addresses

Addresses or discourses delivered or read before deliberative assemblies, courts of justice, or at public meetings may be printed in the daily press without the necessity of any authorization, with due regard, however, to the provisions of the domestic legislation of each nation.

Article 11

Newspaper articles

Literary, scientific, or artistic writings, whatever may be their subjects, published in newspapers or magazines in any one of the countries of the Union, shall not be reproduced in the other countries without the consent of the authors. With the exception of the works mentioned, any article in a newspaper may be reprinted by others if it has not been expressly prohibited, but in every case the source from which it is taken must be cited.

Newspaper news

News and miscellaneous items published merely for general information do not enjoy protection under this convention.

Article 12

Fragments of literary or artistic works

The reproduction of extracts from literary or artistic publications for the purpose of instruction or chrestomathy does not confer any right of property, and may, therefore, be freely made in all the signatory countries.

Article 13

Infringements defined

The indirect appropriation of unauthorized parts of a literary or artistic work having no original character shall be deemed an illicit reproduction, in so far as affects civil liability.

The reproduction in any form of an entire work, or of the greater part thereof, accompanied by notes or commentaries under the pretext of literary criticism or amplification, or supplement to the original work, shall also be considered illicit.

Article 14

Fraudulent copies to be sequestrated, etc.

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.

Article 15

Each government to exercise supervision

Each of the Governments of the signatory countries shall retain the right to permit, inspect, or prohibit the circulation, representation, or exhibition of works or productions, concerning which the proper authority may have to exercise that right.

Article 16

Convention to take effect three months after ratification

The present convention shall become operative between the signatory States which ratify it three months after they shall have communicated their ratification to the Argentine Government, and it shall remain in force among them until a year after the date, when it may be denounced. This denunciation shall be addressed to the Argentine Government and shall be without force except with respect to the country making it.

Signed at Buenos Aires Aug. 11, 1910

Made and signed in the city of Buenos Aires on the eleventh day of August in the year one thousand nine hundred and ten, in Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French, and deposited in the ministry of foreign affairs of the Argentine Republic, in order that certified copies be made for transmission to each one of the signatory nations through the appropriate diplomatic channels.

The convention was thus signed by representatives of twenty powers: the United States of America, Argentine Republic, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Venezuela.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF LAWS AND CASES, ENGLISH AND AMERICAN

This table gives in chronological order the statutes, with reference to their place in the statute books, and historical, leading and recent cases with the name of the court, of the judge presiding or giving the opinion, and the reference to the law reports, also an epitome of the point cited in the text, with page reference. It is not intended to cover minor cases, not settling any principle, and where a decision has been reversed on appeal, the case in the lower court may not be given unless some definite point was there settled. The usual law report abbreviations are employed; outside of these, Copinger refers to Copinger's "Law of Copyright," Copr. Cas. to the annual summary of copyright cases edited by McGillivray and published by the English Publishers Association, Hamlin Copr. C. & D. to Hamlin's "Copyright Cases and Decisions, 1891-1903," published for the American Publishers' Copyright League, Times to the London Times legal column, and Pub. Week. to the Publishers' Weekly, of New York. English and American cases can be distinguished by the name of the court, judge or report. Cases are entered alphabetically in the general index with references to the year and to the page of text.