Page:The copyright act, 1911, annotated.djvu/46

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34

Copyright Act, 1911.

2(l)(iv).

Paragraph (iv) expressly authorised by Berlin Convention.

Question whether it applies to musical or dramatic work,

or to maps or cliarts.

consequence of failure to comply with the requirements of the Act.


of such passages from works by the same author are published by the same publisher within five years, and that the source from which such passages are taken is acknowledged.

The Berlin Convention, Article 10 (following the Berne Convention, Article 8), states that, as regards the liberty of extracting portions from literary or artistic works for use in publications destined for educational purposes, or having a scientific character, or for chresto- mathies, the legislature of each country is free to make such provision as it may think proper.

The above paragraph gives a very limited and carefully guarded liberty of taking extracts from published literary works for educational purposes only.

It is submitted that, for the purpose of this paragraph, literary work must be distinguished from dramatic work and musical work, and that there is no liberty of taking extracts from musical works or from literary works pub- lished in dramatic form. Upon this point a parallel case under the American Copyright Acts may be referred to, where it has been held that neither a "dramatic com- position "nor a musical composition", although printed and published, is a "book" within the meaning of the manufacturing clause requiring type to be set in the United States (d).

Literary work is defined in the Act as including maps, charts, plans, tables and compilations (e). It is very doubtful whether any of those fall within the privilege granted by this paragraph. One does not take a "pas- sage" from a map, and the word is hardly appropriate even to an extract from a "table" or similar "com- pilation."

Apparently, if there is a failure to comply with the section in any particular, the extracted portion will im- mediately become an infringing copy, and the usual con- sequences will follow. Thus, if the publisher issued any

(d) Hervirn v. /. S. Ogih-le PubUxJmirj Co. (1909), Cop. Cas. 1905-10, p. 262 ; Oliver Y. Zittleton (1895), 67 Fed. Rep. 905.

(e) Sect. 35 (1) ("Literary work").