Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 6.djvu/188

176 FEDERAL REPORXEB. �2. COPTHI&HT— COPTIHa AND PUBLISHlKa COPYRIGHTED PhOTOORAPH— �Section 4965, Rev. St.— Suit Agaikst Fibm fob Statutokt Pbn- �AMY— FiBM rrOT LiABLB FpB ACTS OF AGENT DONE WITHOUT IT9 �Knowledoe— RiGHT op Recoveet Against ONE Partner Alonk. �A superintendent, employed hj a dry goods flrm, caused, without the knowledge of the flrm, lithographie copies to be made of a copy- righted photograph, and sent thera to the dyer employed by the firm, who attached them as labels to certain goods. These goods were then sent to the store of the flrm, ■where they were sold. Prior to such sale a piece of the goods, with the label attached, together with the copyrighted photograph, was shown to one of the partners, who ex- preijsed his approval. None of the other partners ever had aay knowledge of the transaction. In a qui tam action by the proprie- tor of the copyrighted photograph against the flrm, to recover the statutory penalty imposed by section 4965, Rev. St., ?ield, that the copying and publishing (if the term " publish" in the statute had reference to pictures) had been completed prior to the tinie whea the goods reached defendants' store. Held, further, that the statute being penal, defendants were not responsible for the acts of their agent done without their knowledge. �Qucere, whether, if plaintifE had so elected at the trial, the suit could have been regarded as against the several members of the flrm individually, and a recovery gustained against the one aloae who was shown the copies. �This was a qui tam action brought nnder section 4966, BeT. St.,* by Schreiber & Sons, who sued, as well for the United States as for thernselves, against Charles L. Sharpless, Henry W. Sharpless, and Charles W. Sharpless, "trading as Sharp- �*This section raads as follows: " If any person, after the recording of the title of any map, chart, musical composition, prlnt, eut, engraving, or photograph or chromo, or of the description of any painting, drawing, statue, statuary, or model or design intended to be perfected and ezecuted as a work of the fine arts, as provided by this chapter, shall, within th» term limited, and without the consent of the proprietor of the copyright arst obtsined in writing, signed in presence of two or more witnesses, en- grave, etch, work, copy, print, publish, or import, either in whole or in part, or by varying the main design with intent to evade the law, or, know- ing the same to be so printed, published, or imported, shall sell or expose to sale any copy of such map or other article, as aforesaid, he shall forfeit to the proprietor ail the plates on which the same shall be copied, and every sheet thereof, either copied or printed, and shall further forfeit one dollar for every sheet of the same found in his possession, either printing, printed, copied, published, imported, or exposed for sale ; and in case of a painting, statue, or statuary, he shall forfeit ten dollars for every copy of the same in his possession, or by himsold or exposed for sale — one-half t!iereof to the proprietor and the other half to the use of the United States." ��� �