Part 44 (1/2)

WAs.h.i.+NGTON, D.C., _June 8, 1906_.

The JOINT COMMITTEE ON PATENTS, _United States Senate and House of Representatives_.

GENTLEMEN: On behalf of the Photographers' Copyright League of America, having partic.i.p.ated in the conferences called by the Librarian of Congress upon the subject of a new copyright law, we beg to say that we give our hearty a.s.sent to the principles of the bill as proposed. Of course, there are minor matters which might have been otherwise drafted by us, but we as cheerfully surrender such particular items, as did many other interests represented at the conference.

Copyright legislation has for its basic principle the protection of the property of the copyright owner, and though remedies for damage are manifestly necessary, prevention of injury is the matter of highest importance to the copyright owner. Legislation which acts as a deterrent is the active principle of protection prescribed by the Const.i.tution. For these reasons we believe the pending bill has been framed upon logical and consistent lines which, if enacted into legislation, will doubtless form precedent for other countries.

Very respectfully,

PHOTOGRAPHERS' COPYRIGHT LEAGUE OF AMERICA.

B. T. FALK, _President_.

PIRIE MACDONALD, _Delegate_.

HORACE PETt.i.t LAW OFFICES, _Philadelphia, June 1, 1906_.

HERBERT PUTNAM, Esq., _Librarian of Congress_, _Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C._

DEAR SIR: Referring to the proposed bill to amend and consolidate the act respecting copyright, a copy of which has been handed me, with your circular letter regarding suggestions, I would say that I would propose that the following clause be added continuously to the end of section 3:

”_And provided_, That nothing herein contained shall apply to sound records made or to be pressed from dies or matrices manufactured prior to the pa.s.sage of this act.”

That the following be added to section 18, paragraph (_b_), line 7, of said paragraph, between the word ”composition” and the word ”any,” viz, ”including any talking-machine record.”

The amendment to section 3 is mainly designed to protect talking-machine manufacturers who have invested very large sums of money in records and in dies or matrices for pressing the same, many of which contain musical compositions the notation of which has been copyrighted, but which under existing laws these records do not in any manner infringe. To now take away the right to use these matrices and records, into which so much money has been put, would be very unjust and inequitable and work a great hards.h.i.+p upon the talking-machine manufacturers--that is, if my reading and understanding of this bill is correct. This would tie up a very large amount of capital, and place the talking-machine record manufacturers at the mercy of the owners of subsisting copyrights.

The object of the amendment to section 18, paragraph (_b_), is to relieve any doubt that records containing the characteristic articulation of the human voice, or the characteristic instrumentation by a performer, adapted for reproducing these characteristic utterances and performances to the ear are intended to be included as copyrightable matter under section 4 of this bill.

I think there will be no question but that the particular characteristic utterances of a singer, or recitationist, or of an actor, or of an orator, or the particular instrumentation of a pianist, or leader of an orchestra, etc., independent of the composition itself, whether it is copyrighted or not, should be equally ent.i.tled to protection, as a photograph or reproduction of a work of art.

It matters not whether the subject-matter of the record is otherwise copyrightable or not. If the piece played is copyrighted as a musical composition, it can not be reproduced on a sound record, in accordance with the bill, without the permission of the composer. A Paderewski, however, may play the copyrighted selection, and a record of his rendition of it, with all his personality and individuality thrown into the piece, should be ent.i.tled to a copyright on a sound record for reproducing purposes.

This is true also of the voice of a Caruso or a Melba singing either a copyrighted or uncopyrighted piece. It is true also, as a further ill.u.s.tration, of the recitation by Henry Irving of ”Eugene Aramas' Dream.” What is here copyrighted in these records is the individuality and personality of the rendition by the performer.

It is the picture of the voice, or of the instrumentation, as, for instance, a copyrighted photograph is a picture of a person or thing.

Should another performer play the same piece played by a Paderewski the personality of Paderewski would be absolutely wanting, and the same difference between the two performances of the same composition would be in the respective sound records as would exist at the actual performance of the respective pieces.

The same differences between Caruso's rendition of a selection from Rigoletto and a concert hall singer's rendition of the same would exist in the sound record and the reproduction therefrom as would exist in the actual singing of the selection. This is true regarding personality of every voice and instrumentation recorded.

So-called talking-machine records in this respect differ quite materially from the mechanical organ and piano, for the reason that a so-called talking-machine record is an exact record of all the modulations, and all the characteristic articulations of the voice, as well as of all the characteristics of an instrumentation. In other words, it is an exact picture of all the merits and demerits of the original, and the original is reproduced with an exactness so that frequently, at a distance, in the present perfected state of the art, the reproduction may very well be mistaken for the original.

This record of the voice and instrumentation for sound reproducing is an art which was not commercially available, or perfected, when the earlier copyright laws were pa.s.sed, and therefore were not included. It is doubtless the intention of the framers of this bill to include such sound records as copyrightable matter, but in order to relieve the bill from any doubt it may properly be expressed in this section as I suggest.

Hoping that this will meet with your approval, I remain,

Yours, very truly,

HORACE PETt.i.t.

THE PLAYWRIGHTS LEAGUE CLUB, _New York, N.Y., June 2, 1906_.