CONTENTS Page 1, et seq. Oscar R. Strackbein, representative, International Allied Printing Hon. Edwin E. Willis, Representative in Congress from the State of 2,26 Arthur E. Farmer, Esq., representative, the American Book Publishers Council, Inc., New York, N. Y.. C. Murray Bernhardt, committee counsel, House Committee on the Hon. Angier L. Goodwin, Representative in Congress from the State 6, 37 10, 13 Thomas E. Bracken, assistant legal adviser, Department of State- Hon. Boyd Tackett, Representative in Congress from the State of John Shulman, Esq., New York, N. Y., representing the Authors' Hon. Sam B. Warner, United States Register of Copyrights Letter, February 24, 1949, Sydney M. Kaye, Esq., chairman, copy- Memorandum of proposed amendments to bill, submitted by Arthur Letter, February 25, 1949, Ernest A. Gross, Acting Assistant Secretary, APPENDIX Joint memorandum from Oscar R. Strackbein, representative of the International Allied Printing Trades Council, and Hon. Sam B. Warner, United States Register of Copyrights---- Memorandum from Legislative Reference Service, the Library of Congress, entitled "Effect of the Habana Charter on the Manufacturing Clause of Letter of February 28, 1949, from Arthur E. Farmer, Esq., representing the American Book Publishers Council, Inc., containing suggested amend- Letter of February 24, 1949, from J. A. Gerardi, Esq., chairman, committee on copyrights, the National Association of Magazine Publishers, Inc. - Letter of February 19, 1949, from Edward V. Saher, Esq., representing the Netherlands American University League, containing resolutions of the Letter of February 10, 1949, from Harry G. Henn, Esq., member of the III RELAXATION OF COPYRIGHT LAW AS TO FOREIGN WORKS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1949 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a. m., Hon. Joseph R. Bryson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. BRYSON. Gentlemen, we will come to order. We are taking up this morning H. R. 2285, a bill to amend title 17 of the United States Code entitled "Copyrights," with respect to relaxation of provisions governing copyright of foreign works. will be inserted in the record at this point. (H. R. 2285 is as follows:) [H. R. 2285, 81st Cong., 1st sess.] The bill A BILL To amend title 17 of the United States Code entitled "Copyrights", with respect to relaxation of provisions governing copyright of foreign works Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 16 of title 17, United States Code is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 16. MECHANICAL WORK TO BE DONE IN UNITED STATES.-Of the printed book or periodical specified in section 5, subsections (a) and (b), of this title, except the original text of a book or periodical of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English, the text of all copies accorded protection under this title, except as below provided, shall be printed from type set within the limits of the United States, either by hand or by the aid of any kind of typesetting machine, or from plates made within the limits of the United States from type set therein, or, if the text be produced by lithographic process, or photoengraving process, then by a process wholly performed within the limits of the United States, and the printing of the text and binding of the said book shall be performed within the limits of the United States; which requirements shall extend also to the illustrations within a book consisting of printed text and illustrations produced by lithographic process, or photoengraving process, and also to separate lithographs or photoengravings, except where in either case the subjects represented are located in a foreign country and illustrate a scientific work or reproduce a work of art: Provided, however, That said requirements shall not apply to work in raised characters for the use of the blind, or to books or periodicals of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English, or to works printed or produced in the United States by any other process than those above specified in this section, or to copies of books or periodicals, of foreign origin, in the English language, imported into the United States within five years after first publication in a foreign state or nation up to the number of fifteen hundred copies of each such book or periodical in addition to those imported under the exceptions set forth in section 107 of this title, if ad interim copyright in said work shall have been obtained pursuant to section 22 of this title prior to the importation into the United States of any copies except those permitted by the exceptions set forth in section 107 of this title." 1 SEC. 2. That section 22 of title 17, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 22. AD INTERIM PROTECTION OF BOOK OR PERIODICAL PUBLISHED ABROAD. In the case of a book or periodical first published abroad in the English language, the deposit in the Copyright Office, not later than six months after its publication abroad, of one complete copy of the foreign edition, with a request for the reservation of the copyright and a statement of the name and nationality of the author and of the copyright proprietor and of the date of publication of the said book or periodical, shall secure to the author or proprietor an ad interim copyright therein, which shall have all the force and effect given to copyright by this title, and shall endure until the expiration of five years after the date of first publication abroad." SEC. 3. That the second paragraph of section 215 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out the period at the end thereof, inserting a colon in lieu thereof, and adding the following new provisions: "And provided further, That with respect to works of foreign origin, in lieu of payment of the copyright fee of $4 together with one copy of the work and application, the foreign author or proprietor may at any time within one year from the date of first publication abroad deposit in the Copyright Office an application for registration and two copies of the work which shall be accompanied by a catalog card in form and content satisfactory to the Register of Copyrights. Any United States author or proprietor may, if he so desires, use the facilities of the Copyright Office to forward to any foreign country with which satisfactory arrangements exist for deposit or registration in conformity with the copyright laws of such country, copies of any United States work produced within the United States by printing, lithography, photography, or other similar process under payment of such sums as the Register of Copyrights may determine from time to time to be sufficient to cover the cost of such services. Upon receipt of such copies and fee the Register of Copyrights shall forward the work for such deposit or registration." SEC. 4. The analysis of chapter 1 of said title 17, United States Code, is amended by striking out the item reading: "22. Ad interim protection of book published abroad.", and inserting in lieu thereof: "22. Ad interim protection of book or periodical published abroad.". Mr. BRYSON. We will try to give as much time as we can to all of the witnesses, regardless of what their views, but in view of the fact that we have a number of witnesses I hope that you will make your statements as brief as possible and confine your observations strictly to the points in controversy. I have been furnished with a list here by our clerk, and Mr. Oscar R. Strackbein is listed as the first witness. Mr. Strackbein, will you please identify yourself for the record? STATEMENT OF OSCAR R. STRACKBEIN ON BEHALF OF THE INTERNATIONAL ALLIED PRINTING TRADES COUNCIL Mr. STRACKBEIN. Mr. Chairman, my name is Oscar R. Strackbein and I represent the International Allied Printing Trades Association. That association is composed of the five unions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor that operate in the printing trades. Specifically they are the typographical union, the printing pressmen's union, the photoengraver's union, the book binders, and the stereotypers. We are interested in this bill, H. R. 2285, as a means of relaxing the present copyright law as it pertains to the importation and sale. and manufacture in this country of books and periodicals of foreign authorship in the English language. I will not undertake at this particular time to go into the provisions of the bill, but I will be glad to answer any questions. On the other hand, I would like to have the benefit of the statement that will be made by the Department of State and thereafter I would like to have the opportunity of making some further comments, Mr. Chairman. I do not know just what the State Department will present. As I say, the main purpose of the bill is to relax certain provisions of the present copyright law to enable foreign authors of books in the English language to have a better opportunity than they have under the present law to test the American market. The point at issue is an extension of the time periods as they apply under the present law. As you know the bill provides that 6 months are to be allowed after the date of first publication abroad in which a book can be registered in the United States. Then a period of 5 years is permitted during which 1,500 copies of such books could be introduced in the United States under ad interim protection of the copyright. This period we deem to be sufficient to permit the testing of the American market and in those two respects the bill represents a considerable relaxation over the present law in the amount of time permitted for these two purposes. Mr. BRYSON. Mr. Strackbein, as a representative of organized labor you naturally are interested in preserving our much higher standard of living and much higher wage level than prevails in any other country? Mr. STRACKBEIN. That is correct, sir Mr. BRYSON. Of course, you have that extremely important factor in mind when you make the statement that you do? Mr. STRACKBEIN. Very true. The wage rates in the printing trades in the United States, I am sure, are at least twice as high as those prevailing in the United Kingdom which is the chief source and has been the chief source of imports of books printed in the English language and we are interested in maintaining these labor standards in this country. We feel that the bill, if passed, would not operate to undermine those standards and it is for that reason that we have felt that the type of relaxation provided in the bill could very well be extended to the foreign nations who publish books in the English language and sell them in the American market. Mr. BRYSON. I would like to make this observation too, although it is not directly related. While you say that the wage level is at least twice as high as it is elsewhere, you mention particularly England, I believe? Mr. STRACKBEIN. Let me say there that the wages in England are probably the highest of those of any competitor with the exception perhaps of Canada and let us say Australia and New Zealand. Mr. BRYSON. Is it not true that the productive capacity of the individual laborer in this country is about twice as high as in those countries? Mr. STRACKBEIN. In the printing industry? Mr. BRYSON. I am speaking generally? Mr. STRACKBEIN. That would vary greatly from industry to industry, Mr. Chairman. There are industries, of course, in which foreign manufacturers have modern machinery and in those cases the productivity of our labor may be very little higher than that of the foreign manufacturers. I think it is quite true that in instances where we have a high degree of mechanization, whereas other countries do not have it, the productivity of our worker may not be only twice, but |