The Copyright Question - A Letter to the Toronto Board of Trade by George N. (George Nathaniel) Morang
page 11 of 23 (47%)
page 11 of 23 (47%)
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British subjects. If Canadian authors, Mr. Seton-Thompson, Ralph Connor,
or Dr. Drummond, for example, comply with the provisions of the Chace Bill, and print and publish in the United States contemporaneously with the Canadian publication, they secure British and American copyright, with all the protection of the local copyright laws of the two countries. Now let us see how an American author, who does not copyright in England but seeks to publish simultaneously in Canada and the United States, would be treated in this country, were he to seek to copyright his book in compliance with the provisions of our Canadian Act, an essential requirement of which is printing in this country. In 1875, the Canadian Parliament passed an Act giving copyright for twenty-eight years from the date of recording, to any author of a book domiciled in Canada or in any part of the British dominions _or being the citizen of any country having an International Copyright Treaty with the United Kingdom_. To secure such copyright the Act provides that the book must be printed and published, or reprinted and republished in Canada, _whether so published for the first time or contemporaneously with or subsequently to the publication elsewhere_. This Act was reserved by the Governor General. In the same year an Imperial Statute was passed empowering Her Majesty in Council to assent to the reserved Act. On the 26th of October, 1875, the Royal assent was given to take effect from the 11th of December following. Just as United States Copyright Legislation requires production in that country so the Canadian Act of 1875 provides, as pointed out above, that to obtain Canadian copyright for a literary work it must be produced in Canada. The Canadian authorities have steadily declined to permit the registration of copyright under the Canadian Copyright Act to citizens of the United |
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