INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT. The first country to take action in regard to international copy right was Prussia, which in 1836 passed an act conceding the protection of the Prussian statute to the writers of every country which should grant reciprocity. In 1837 a copyright conven tion W a s concluded between the different mem bers of the German Confederation. This was confirmed in 1870 between the States which were then brought together in the newly constituted German Empire. In 1838 an act was passed in England under which the Crown might. by order in council, grant the privilege of copyright to authors of books first published in any foreign country, to be named in such order, provided al ways that "due protection had been secured by the foreign Powers so named for the benefit of parties interested in works first published in British dominions." Under this act Great Britain entered into copyright conventions Saxony, 1846; Ilanover, 1847; France, 1851; Prussia, 1855; Belgium, 1855; Spain, 1857; Sardinia, ; and Italy, 1867. Interstate con ventions were also arrived at during the same period between most of the literature-producing States of Europe, the noteworthy exceptions be ing Belgium which profited largely through the unauthorized reprinting of hooks originating in France), Holland, and Hungary. In 1887, under the Born Convention, the States 44 Europe and certain States outside of Europe united in a copyright system which protected, throughout the territory of the States that were party to the convention, the works produced in each of these States. The States taking part in this interna tional union comprised at. the outset Great Brit ain (including the British Colonies), Germany, France, Belgium, Spain. Italy, Switzerland, Haiti, and Tunis. Since 1887 the following States have come into the union: Luxembourg, Monaco, _Montenegro, Norway, dapan, and Denmark. The most noteworthy exceptions, among the litera ture-producing countries, to membership in the convention are Holland, Ilussia, Austria-Hun gary, and the United States. In 1896 a diplo matic conference met in Paris to discuss a re vision of the Bern Convention, and drew up a modification known as the Act of the 4th of Nay, 1896. The association maintains a permanent bureau at. Bern, and under its initiative confer ences have been held at brief intervals through the action of which the provisions of the Union have been perfected. In 1901 the International Publishers' Association established at Bern a permanent bureau whose work is carried on in coiiperation with that of the Bern Convention.
In the United States efforts to secure inter national copyright relations extended over a period of more than fifty years. In 1837 Henry Clay presented to Congress a petition of British authors asking for American copyright. In 1843 George P. Putnam presented to Congress a memorial drafted by himself, and signed by ninetv-seven publishers and printers, in which it was stated that "the absence of an international copyright was alike injurious to the business of publishing, to the best interests of the peo ple at large." In 1841 was organi•d the first
International Copyright Association. of which George P. Putnam was the secretary. Between that date and 1891 fourteen copyright measure: were introduced into Congress. In 1887 the American Copyright League. composed in the main of the authors of the country. appointed an executive committee to take action to further the measures then pending in behalf of interna tional copyright. Gf this committee Mr II V. Johnson was, during the greater part of its activity, the secretary. In the Sallie month was organized the American Publishers' Copyright League, with W, 11, Appleton as president. and G. H, Putnam as secretary. In 1891 was finally secured the enactment of the bill, drafted under the direction of the Publishers' 1.t'aqlle, which made such modifications in the exist in statute as to eoncede copyright in II s4tnte, to the authors of foreign States in whieli Ameriean authors were placed in a p ion to secure similar copyright protection. The most impor tant limitations in the copyright as granted in the act of 189t were the requirements that the foreign book to secure protection of the American statute must be produced from type set within the limits of the United States. and that two copies of the book so produced must be deposited in the Library of Congress not later than the date of publication of the work, in this or any foreign country. The requirement that the work of an American author should, in order to se cure copyright in this country, be manufactured in this country was new. While, through the passage of the act of 1891, the United States had finally put itself on record in company with the other civilized and literature-producing and literature-consuming States of the world in recognizing the property rights of literary pro d•ers, it was not in a position to accept mem bership in the Convention of Bern. The re quirement that the copyrighted book must be manufactured in this country, coupled with the requirement for simultaneous publication, made conditions which were incompatible with the regulations accepted by the Bern Association. This additional measure for seeuring American copyright for aliens (and. under reciprocity, for eign copyright for Americans), a measure which is the result of years of effort on the part of individual workers and of successive copyright leagues. brings this country to the point reached by France in IMO. and by Great Britain and the States of t lermany in 1830-37. Imperfect as the act may be as judged by the present standards of international copyright legislation, it. not. only marks a great advance in the development of puldie opinion and legisla tive opinion in this country. hut has resulted in substantial gains for the authors of America, for the authors of Great Britain, and for the Ameri can book-buying public.