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    '188 Fleet Street : September 1, 1886.

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    IN we the printed Publishers the memoria...

• Transcript

  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Ar00402

    9 S 4 The Publishers' Circular Sept , _ i 88 ( . . ¦—¦—— \ ¦ ¦ ' I

    Ad00401

    The ' PUBLISHERS' CIRCULAR' for OCTOBER 1 WILX CONTAIN AS FULL <• AND v COMPLETE •> LISTS •> OF •> FORTHCOMING * BOOKS _ A _ S Oj ^ - IST IBDB " OZBT ^ IZETIEID - l ubl 4 shers tvill greatly oblige and assist us by sending in their Advertise . ments and Lists of Announcements as . early as possible , so that they may be dtily mentioned in the Literary Intelligence .

    '188 Fleet Street : September 1, 1886.

    '188 Fleet Street : September 1 , 1886 .

    In We The Printed Publishers The Memoria...

    IN we the printed Publishers the memorial Circular addressed of January to Lord 15 ,

    Salisbury on the question of International Copyright ; also his Lordship ' s repljr-to Mr .

    Daldy with regard to the memorial . The result of subsequent proceedings is embodied in

    a Parliamentary paper ( Switzerland , No . 2 , 1886 ) issued on Saturday , August 21 .

    With a view to introducing an amending Bill into Parliament , inquiries were addressed , on

    March 4 , to the Colonial and India Offices , in order that the exact terms of the amending

    Act might be settled , article 19 of - the draft convention agreed to at the Berne Conference

    providing for the accession of the colonies and foreign possessions of the contracting States .

    The following letter was addressed by Mr . 3 ryce > Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs , to

    Mr . Bramston , Assistant Under-Secretary for the Colonies : —

    * Mr . Bryce to Mr . Bramston . * t ' Foreign Office , April 8 , 1886 .

    ' My dear Mr . Bramston , —Ifc seems desirable to convey to your Office , for the information of the colonial authorities and Agents-Generalthe reasons

    , which have led to the introduction of the International and Colonial Copyright Bill in its present form .

    ' The memorandum herewith enclosed so clearly explains the objects and legal effect of the measure , that I need only advert shortly to what may be

    called its policy . * Her Majesty was represented at the International Conferences held at Berne in 1884 and

    1 885 for the establishment of an International Copyright Union , and it now becomes important , in view of declarations made bthe late and present

    Government , that the Convention y should be signed next September , so as to bring her dominions within the union .

    * When the Bill necessary to enable Her Majesty to do this was being prepared , the question arose , for which of her colonial i and Indian posses 17 — -

    sions should she enter the union ? They are all included in the existing copyright treaties , and it was therefore thought proper to give them the

    opportunity of entering , and thereby securing protection for their own authors . In case , however , any * colony — — — — ¥ ^ should ^^ ^^ — —^ prefe m ^ ^^ ^~^ ^^ ^^^ ^ r ^ to ^^ ^^^ ¦ be ^^ ^"^ excepted ~ - ^^ ¦ k ^^^ ~ i ^^ ^^ ^^^^ from ^ k ^ w ^ r ^ ^ ji ^^^ t the ^» " * ¦ * ^^*

    Convention , it is proposed to permit it to stand aloof , and Clause 9 has been drawn to enable it to do so if eo mindedwhile Clause 10 would give tho

    means of its retiring , at any later time . * A similar letter was addressed to the India Office

    . t Copy to Board of Trade , April 9 , 1886 .

    In We The Printed Publishers The Memoria...

    ' The question next arose , whether it was not desirable to take this opportunity ¦— / 6 f dealing b ± with

    j ~ — — —— ' ™» ^ - ^ «^« a m-cr yy I I I 1 copyright as between different parts ^ of Her Majesty j ' s dominions . It appeared inconsistent \* it to

    ^ j — r ^ r ^ —^ —^ ^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^ M ^^ ^*^ % ~ j a K if ? creat . ± _ e reci _* procal __ .. 1 ri ghts Ti between m * Great -AM . Britain Wm . and foreign tcountries & and — — not — to provide for such b / ri At j ghts

    ^ ji , ^ " ^ ™ ~ —^ f — — - — —» "w » ^^ •** *•• ^^ -a . £ l 11 L 3 important as between to different remedy colonies at once ; an and injustice it was in thought the lav which had

    long been complained of—viz ., that which denies copyright in the United - —¦ ¦ Kingdom fcfc Hi to

    — — " — — —— — ^^•¦•™ ^« \_/ while an author allowing who first it throug y publishes ^ hout the his whole book British in a colony Em - , i

    pre to an author who first publishes in the United Kingdom . ' This suggested the framing of Clause 8 (

    subsections 1 and 2 ) , which gives to the author of a book * first produced anywhere in the Queen ' s

    dominions copyright throughout the whole Empire , and which will therefore prevent the growth of any inter-colonial piracywhereban author publishing

    in one colony might , be deprived y by a publisher in the United Kingdom or some other colony of the reasonahle reward of his labours .

    'Another part of this clause ( subsection 3 ) , howerer , enables special provision to be made for the case of a colony which has alreadlegislated on

    copyright ; and the last part ( subsection y 4 ) secures to a colony the right of legislating for the copyright within its own limits of books first puhlished

    therein . * It has been suggested that possibly some

    colonies might prefer to have the now subsisting Imperial copyright ( i . e ., the Acts which give a British author copyright in the colonies h as i well w as

    _ g _ - _ - _ - _ - ^^ - ^_ - ^^ ^^ m ~*^ r — ^^ ^^^ - ^^ V «^ ^ B ^^ V »~^^ ~ in the United Kingdom ) repealed , so that every colony should , as respects copyright , be in the position of a foreign State towards the mother

    country and all sister colonies . * Whether this would be the wish of any colony

    we do not know . It seems rather opposed to tb tendency , which has happily grown stronger of late vwt sfor \ t part fc ^ A of the Eng lJCXltJAA lish-speaking race

    year j a . » j , | a ^ . a . every v w w- * . m « »^ \^ a uuv ^ -i ^ tjpUUiVlUk— * — - such to draw a change closer to in ever the } r law other could part . not But now in be any nuule ease . , to

    Both Parliament and public opinion would refus * extinguish the existing copyright rihts of Briti ^

    authors . g ' As the policy of the earlier part of the Uill is

    to enlarge the area of protection of literary property be as 9 * _^ ^ 0 a ^ between ^ f contradiction ^^ y ^** r ^ ^ hr m * ^_^ v « dv different . ^ - ^^^ air ^ ^ i ^ «* ^ B to ^ ' * * independent proceed K / J ^ , ^^ . 4 mS ^ k' ^^^ T i » J in ^ ^ ^ the ^ f ^ States ^ ^ tJ ^ latter ^^ LJUf % . W * , ^^ J ** it pjn f * whi ' t to M

    which narrow al this read area exists and and destroy such a literary course wonhl property ho in M . 11 direct VI IJL VU « opposition ^ -T L / |_ y fV ^ k / * «^ A V-r « . * ; to ^\^ the |> 1 M \_/ VA claim . W 1 AJLA . J Bri -f A . * V tain * - ** 11 * hus " * " w

    often be reci urged proca on l copyri the United ght between States , the that two there couutric sh <> " ^ We dregard should have all fu iuiuici cut rther the appeals ground from to the under honesty iiuucd our ? i < i [¦ ki lt

    Indif good as o rogai ^ feeling or s the o , ijl of colonies the Americans -to npuccun do tho if very we LUtJ " suggested thing "wl j j ii to 1 '

    British authors complain of America for permittu ' r

• Citation
  • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), Sept. 1, 1886, page 954, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_01091886/page/4/