Page:Copyright, Its History And Its Law (1912).djvu/409

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BRITISH EMPIRE 377

use, of extracts from copyright works (not themselves published for the use of schools) , not more than two from any one author, and not duplicated within five years by the same publisher; (5) the newspaper re- port of a public lecture, unless specifically prohibited by exhibited notice ; and (6) the reading or recitation in public by one person of any reasonable extract.

The copyright term is for the life of the author Term and fifty years after his death, with provision that after an author's death the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council may, on allegation of the withholding of the work, require grant of license to reproduce, publish or perform it. Posthumous works, works the property of the Crown, photographs and mechan- ical music reproductions, are protected for fifty years; but no specific term seems to be indicated for anony- mous or pseudonymous works as such. Works of joint authorship are protected for fifty years after the death of the author who first dies, or during the life of the author who dies last, whichever the longer period, and such works may be protected by action of any one of the authors. Twenty-five years, or for existing works thirty years after an author's death, any person may under specified conditions publish a copyright work on payment of ten per cent royalty — following an Italian precedent. Compulsory license is also pro- vided for mechanical music reproductions, in case the author permits any such reproduction — following the American provision. University copyrights are continued in perpetuity only for existing copyrights.

The author of a work is the first owner of the copy- Ownership right, except in the case of a work done on order or in the course of contract employment. The owner of a copyright may by an assignment in writing assign his rights wholly or partially, and either generally or as limited to any part of His Majesty's dominions, or