296 COPYRIGHT
shall be considered and treated, respectively, in that country as illicit reproductions"; and the treaties of Germany are especially specific with respect to musi- cal compositions.
The authorities as to the prohibition of importa- tion in other countries are fully given in a statement from the Librarian of Congress made part of the printed record of the third hearing before the Pat- ents Committees at Washington, March 26-28, 1908, which includes the text of the opinion in Pitt Pitts v. George as the leading English case. International The Berne convention of 1886 provided (art. XII) practice that "every infringing (contrefaii) work may be seized on importation into those countries of the Union where the original work has right to legal protection," which was modified by the amendatory act of Paris, 1896, to read "may be seized by the competent au- thorities of the countries of the Union." The Berlin convention continues in article 16 the later phrase- ology, and adds, "in these countries seizure may also be made of reproductions coming from a coun- try where the work is not protected or protection has ceased." All three conventions include also the pro- viso that the seizure shall take place conformably to the domestic legislation of each country. This phraseology apparently leaves the prohibition of edi- tions authorized for other countries as an open ques- tion to be determined under the domestic legislation or practice of each country. The Pan American con- vention of Buenos Aires, 1910, provides (art. 14): "Every publication infringing a copyright may be confiscated in the signatory countries in which the original work had the right to be legally protected, without prejudice to the indemnities or penalties which the counterfeiters may have incurred accord- ing to the laws of the country in which the fraud may have been committed."
