US Copyright Office: ar-1953

8/14/2019 US Copyright Office: ar-1953

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E R R A T U MTHE TITLE PAGE OF THIS ISSUE SHOULD READ

FIFTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE REGISTEROF COPYRIGHTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDINGJUNE 30, 1953.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE

The L i b r a r y of CongressLVASHINGTON : 914


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The Copyright OficeRep ort to the Libra rian of Con gress

by the Register of C opy righ tsSIR: The work of the Copyright Officefor the fiscal year ending June 30, 1953,is summarized as follows:

V ol u m e of BusinessThe number of copyright registrationsfor the year was the third highest in thehistory of the Office, being exceeded only

in the years 1947 and 1948. Registrationsof copyright claims rose to a total of218,506 for fiscal 1953 as compared with203,705 for fiscal 1952, an increase of7.2 percent. This increase occurred inalmost all classes. Musical compositionsshowed the highest increase-7,764, whilebooks rose 2,944 and periodicals 2,862.In number of registrations, periodicals ledthe field with 59,371, closely followed bymusical compositions with 59,302, andbooks came third with 52,347. Althoughthis rise in volume was much greater thancould have been anticipated, the Officenevertheless generally maintained itsschedules for handling work on a substan-tially current basis without a correspondingincrease in staff.

On June 30, 1953, there were more than5,000,000 copyright registrations in effectin the United States. Th e chart on page2 shows the number (to the nearest 5,000)of copyright claims in each class that wereregistered or renewed during the past 28years and were still in effect at the end ofthe fiscal year.The amount of fees earned during fiscal1953 was the greatest in the history of theCopyright Office. A total of $865,302.50in applied fees was turned over to the

United States Treasury as compared with$803,168.50 in fiscal 1952, an increase of7.7 percent. The sources of these fees in1953 are shown in a chart on page 5 andthe amount derived from each source isgiven in a table, "Summary of CopyrightBusiness," at the end of the report on thisOffice.

In round numbers, 348,000 copies ofworks were deposited in the Office during1953, of which 198,000 were transferredto the collections of the Library. Thiscompares with 325,000 copies depositedduring 1952, of which 202,000 were trans-ferred to the Library's collections.

The Office made reference searches andreports in response to 8,670 requests fromthe public in 1953 covering 29,922 titles,a decrease of 1.5 percent in the number ofrequests and an increase of 5 percent intitles covered as compared with the preced-ing fiscal year. The largest number ofinquiries concerned music and the secondlargest books and pamphlets.Universal Copyright Convention

Under the auspices of UNESCO, yearsof preparatory work by copyright expertsfrom a number of countries including theUnited States were brought to a fruitfulconclusion with the completion of the Uni-versal Copyright Convention at the Inter-governmental Conference on Copyrightheld in Geneva, Switzerland, from August18 to September 6,1952. Delegations rep-resenting 50 nations and observers from 9intergovernmental and 6 nongovernmentalinternational organizations attended theConference. Th e United States delega-tion was headed by Luther H. Evans, thenLibrarian of Congress, and included two


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BOOKS ANDCOPYRIGHT REGISTRATIONS IN EFFECT ON JUNE 30, 1953

PAMPHLETS

PERIODICALS

MUSIC

GRAPHIC ARTS (Classes G , H, I, J, K) , 375,000RENEWALS (All Classes) 280,000CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICALS -COMMERCIAL PRINTS AND LABELSDRAMASMOTION PICTURES (Classes L, M)-

APSLECTURES l2?BZZ


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REPORT OF TH E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, I953 3Members of Congress, the HonorableJoseph H. Bryson and the Honorable Shep-ard J. Crumpacker; Roger C. Dixon,representing the Department of State; theRegister of Copyrights; and four leadingcopyright attorneys (Arthur E. Farmer,Herman Finkelstein, Sidney M. Kaye, andJohn Schulman),who represent a diversityof private interests concerned with copy-right.

At the close of the Conference on Sep-tember 6, 1952, the Universal CopyrightConvention was signed by representativesof 36 countries including the United States,and since that date 4 other, countries havebecome signatories. A list of the 40signatories follows.

' SI G N A T O R I E SO THE U N I V E R S A LO P Y R I O H TCONVENTIONAndorraArgentina 'Australia 'Austria 'Belgium 'Brazil '. 'Canada 'ChileCubaDenmark 'El Salvador 'Finland 'France 'German Federal

Republic 'Guatemala 'Haiti 'Holy See 'Honduras 'India 'Ireland '

Israel 'Italy 'Japa? 'LlberlaLuxemburg 'MexicoMonaco 'Netherlands 'Nicaragua 'Norway 'Peru 'Portugal 'San MarinoSpain 'Sweden 'Switzerland 'United Kingdom 'United States 'Uruguay 'Yugoslavia '

'Member of the Berne Union.' Member of a Convention of American Statesto which the United States adheres.In broad terms, the Convention is based

on the principle of "national treatment,"that is, the works of nationals of any mem-ber nation and works first published in anymember nation will be given the same pro-tection in each memher nation as thatnation gives to works of its own nationals.The Convention prescribes certain mini-mum standards of protection, and somerevisions of the present copyright law withrespect to foreign works will be necessary

before the United States can adhere to theConvention.

On June 10, 1953, President Eisenhowersubmitted the Universal Copyright Con-vention to the Senate for its advice andconsent to ratification, together with thereport of the Secretary of State to the Pres-ident (Executive My83d Congress, 1st Ses-sion) . On July 29, 1953, revisions of thecopyright law to conform with the stand-ards prescribed by the Universal Conven-tion were submitted bv the Secretary ofState to Congress and were introduced inthe House on July 29 and 30 as H. R. 6616and H. R. 6670, and in the Senate onAugust 1 as S. 2559.

The Universal Copyright Convention,upon its ratification, will represent a longstep forward in the international copy-right relations of the United States. Thesignificance of the Convention is indicatedin the following excerpts from the report ofthe Secretarv of State to the President:

"This convention would provide a moreadequate basis than presently exists forcopyright protection abroad .of UnitedStates books and periodicals, music, art,motion pictures and similar cultural andscientific creations. Although the UnitedStates is a Dartv to certain multilateral. ,agreements with Latin American countries,it has been unable to join the major inter-national copyright convention of Berne,signed Sept. 9, 1886, because that con-vention and its various revisions containconcepts which have been considered for-eign to our concepts of copyright. We havetherefore had to rely chiefly on a complexnetwork of bilateral arrangements. . . .

"Participation in the Universal Copy-right Convention by the United States willnot only significantly improve the protec-tion accorded to United States private in-terests abroad, but will make a substantialcontribution to our general relations withother countries of the free world."Other International Developments

The treaty of peace with Japan, whichwas signed on September 8, 1951, and be-


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4 R E P OR T O F T H E R E G IS TE R O F C O P Y R IG H T S , I953

came effectiveApril 28,1952, provided thatthe United States would notify Japan,within one year of the effective date, whichof their prewar bilateral treaties or conven-tions would be continued in force or re-vived, and that those not included in thenotification to Japan would be regardedas abrogated. Among the prewar bilateralconventions involved was the copyright con-vention of 1905 between the United Statesand Japan. Th at convention was consid-ered unsatisfactory by United States pub-lishing interests generally because it pro-vided no protection of translation rights,and it was abrogated by its omission fromthe notification that the Department ofState gave Japan on April 22, 1953. (Alsorevoked in the same manner were the twoconventions of 1908 between the UnitedStates and Japan regarding copyright pro-tection in Korea and areas of China wherejurisdiction was then exercised by Japan orthe United States.) Th e Department ofState, with the assistance of the CopyrightOffice, has been negotiating with the Jap-anese Government to establish bilateralcopyright relations on a new basis affordingnational treatment.

On September 24, 1952, copyright rela-tions were established for the first time be-tween the United States and the Principal-ity of Monaco. On that date, following anexchange of notes, the President issued aproclamation and the Prince of Monacopromulgated a decree whereby each coun-try accords protection to works of nationalsof the other on the general basis of nationaltreatment.

The extensions of time given in the threeproclamations issued by the President dur-ing the preceding year for compliance withthe formalities of registration for works ofnationals of Finland, Italy, and Denmark,came to an end on November 15,1952, De-cember 12, 1952, and February 4, 1953, re-spectively. These extension proclamationswere the last of the series issued after WorldWar 11.

Negotiations are in progress with India,Pakistan, and Burma to reconstitute, on

the basis of their changed political status,the copyright relations previously estab-lished through the United Kingdom. Ne-,gotiations are also in progress with Cubato obtain some relaxation by that country ofcertain procedural requirements for regis-tration that have been troublesome andcostly to United States authors and pub-lishers and with Brazil and Mexico regard-ing the reciprocal protection of mechanicalmusical rights.Administrative Developments

Special Studies.-During the fiscal year1953 several major studies were begunwith regard to some of the Office's admin-istrative operations and certain problemsof a legal nature concerning the scope ofthe copyright law.

One of the principal functions of theOffice is to compile and maintain publicrecords and indexes of all copyright claimsand related documents registered or re-corded. The records and indexes kept inthe Office are available for use by thepublic or, upon request and payment of afee, the Office will search the records andrender a report on any particular copyrightclaim. In addition, the Office preparesprinted catalogs of copyright entries, whichare furnished to the public on order. Acomprehensive study of the present systemof indexing and cataloging has been inau-gurated to reappraise the objectives of thecataloging operations and to explore thepossibilities of simplifying and expeditingthis important phase of the Office's work.

There has been a steadily growing move-ment among the bar and trade groups con-cerned with c~pyrightor a complete revi-sion of the copyright law, Title 17 of theUnited States Code, in the light of present-day conditions. The existing law is basi-cally that enacted in 1909, and the 44 yearssince then have brought such developmentsas radio, television, and new processes ofreproduction, photography, sound record-ing, and transmission. Obviously a gen-


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Ccp yrigh t Office--Fiscal Year 1953

ORIGINALREGISTRATIONS*

BREAKDOWN OF FEES APPLIED BY SOURCES

I Amount Percent

RENEWAL vjREGISTRATIONS 34,202.00 4.0 $3ASSIGNMENTRECORDATlONS 30,118.50 3.5REFERENCESEARCHES 11,302.00 1.3NOTICE OF USERECORDATIONS 4,485.00 . 5CERTIFICATIONOF DOCUMENTS 2,101.00 .2

$865,302.50 100.0'Includes 839,856.00 (4.6 percent of total fees applied) for original registrations resulting from compliance requests made by Copyright Office. U1


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G R E P O R T O F T H E R EG I ST E R O F C O P Y R I G H T S , I953

era1 revision is needed and the CopyrightOffice has begun to make plans for study-ing the manifold problems involved in acomplete overhauling of the copyright law.

Important problems relating to copy-right protection of artistic works usedin commercial products were studied inconnection with a series of court cases tobe summarized later in this report. Thequestions involved concern the respectiveareas of protection under the copyright anddesign patent laws with respect to artisticworks embodied in articles of utility.Similar questions regarding the protectionof applied art are currently under consid-eration by bar and trade groups concernedwith commercial design.

Studies of several other problems ofLesser scope but of fundamental significanceto the administration of the copyright lawshould be mentioned. An intensive studyhas been completed regarding the subjectmatter of copyright in the important fieldof commercial prints and labels. Growingpublic interest in recent developments inthe field of choreography has raised ques-tions now under study regarding the areaof copyright protection for works of thatcharacter. Also under consideration arethe problems posed by professional photog-raphers who are seeking practical methodsof obtaining copyright protection for alarge repertory of photographic works at alow cost per unit. Similarly, methods arebeing explored for copyrighting a collectionof doctoral dissertations as a group.Internal Operations.-The considerableincrease in the volume of business duringfiscal 1953 emphasized the importance ofkeeping the work of the Office on a currentbasis. An average of almost 1,000 appli-cations for registration are received in theOffice on each business day, in additionto a mass of correspondence. During thepast year, standard workloads and timeschedules were established for the majoroperations performed in the Office, andweekly reports of the workload status ofeach process are assembled and reviewed sothat any lag in the time schedule is re-

vealed and given special attention. Bysuch methods it was possible to keep theOffice's increased volume of work on asubstantially current basis during the pastyear.

The disposition by the Office of appli-cations for registration during fiscal 1953is indicated by the following figures: About257,000 examinations of applications weremade, with registration being completed in85 percent of the cases and only 2.9 per-cent being rejected. Correspondence wasnecessary in about 31,000 or 12 percent ofthe cases examined to resolve questionablefeatures, and 1,931 cases of this kind re-mained pending at the end of the year.

Plans have been completed for begin-ning, in fiscal 1954, an experiment inrecording assignments and similar docu-ments filed in the Office on microfilminstead of in bulky record books as hcreto-fore. Also with the start of the fiscal yeara new system of indexing registrations ofperiodicals will be inaugurated which willcombine the functions of registration andindexing.

The year contributed its share of odditiesand gems to the endless variety of materialflowing into the Office. Among them werea recipe for smelts, accompanied by over-ripe samples that pervaded the Office withan aroma reminiscent of their name; for-mulas for a baby H-bomb and for an"atomic fizz cocktail" containing uraniumand said to be a cure-all; a new method oftrisecting an angle; the slogan "MostStolen State in the 48," submitted by aState commission with the explanation thatpictures of the scenic splendors in its Statewere being used in advertisements of sev-eral other States; the first of the new"3-D" and wide-screen motion-picturefilms and the first tachistoscope films; thefirst book composed by the new photo-graphic process known as Photon; and twopreviously unknown works of the composerFelix Mendelssohn, a sonata for violin andpiano and a concerto for violin and stringorchestra, recently discovered and editedfor publication by Yehudi Menuhin.


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REPORT OF T H E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, I953 7

PublicationsInformation abaut more than 76,000motion pictures registered from 1894

through 1949 will soon be available for usein research. Work has been completed ontwo motion-picture catalogs to be publishedin the near future, one covering motionpictures registered during the decade 1940through 1949 and t he other covering worksregistered from 1894 to 1912 that were.identified as motion pictures by HowardL. Walls of the Motion Picture Academyof Arts and Sciences. These two volumes,together with Motion Pictures, 1912-1939,published in December 1951, will comprjsethe most comprehensive list available tothe public of motion pictures from thebirth of the industry in 1894 through 1949.Motion picture registrations since 1949 areavailable in the semiannual issues of thecurrent Cata log of C opyr ight Entries.

Th e monthly catalog, Not ice of U se ofMusic on Mechanical Instruments, whichwas discontinued in 1928, was revived dur-ing the fiscal year 1952 on an experimentalbasis because of the great upsurge in theimportance of recorded music. I t provedto be of real interest to a number of sub-scribers and has been reinstituted as a regu-lar publication.Bulletin No. 14, containing the text ofthe copyright law, Title 17 of the UnitedStates Code, together with an index andcertain related material, has been reissuedin a revised edition, bringing the law up todate as of January 1, 1953. This is themost popular of the Office's publications,about 9,000 copies having been sold by theSuperintendent of Documents and about1,200 by the Copyright %ce during thefiscal year 1953. Also, the previous com-pilation of United States copyright statutesenacted from 1783 to 1906 has beenbrought up to date through 1952 and in-dexed in a new loose-leaf compilation.

Th e most recent in the series of Bulletinscontaining decisions of the courts concern-ing copyright is nearing completion. Thisnew volume, Bulletin No. 28, covers the

years 1951 and 1952 and is expected to beissued in the fall of 1953.

Because there has been no periodicalpublication in the United States devotedprimarily to copyright matters, during fiscal1953 the Office began the publication ofa bimonthly bibliographical bulletin ofcurrent material concerning copyright,such as legislation, court decisions, texts,and articles. Although primarily intendedfor the use of the staff, copies were madeavailable, in a necessarily limited number,to lawyers active in the copyright field. Thebulletin generated so much interest amongthcm that they organized a society, theCopyright Society of the U. S. A., for thepublication of a periodical containing thekind of bibliographical material that theOffice's bulletin provided. The first issueof the Society's bimonthly bulletin, which isprepared with the cooperation of the Copy-right Office and the New York UniversityLaw Center, came out in June 1953. Inconsequence, the Office has discontinuedits bibliographical bulletin.Legal Deuelopments

Amendment of Law.-January 1, 1953,marked the effective date of Public Law575, 82d Congress, enacted on July 17,1952, amending section 1 (c ) of the copy-right law. The amendment closed a gap inthe prior law by extending to nondramaticliterary works, performing and recordingrights similar in some respects to thosealready accorded to dramatic and musicalworks.A m e n d m e n t of Reg ulat ions .-Anamendment of the Regulations of the Copy-right Office, published in the Federal Reg-ister of June 17, 1953, and effective 60 daysthereafter, liberalized the conditions underwhich attorneys may obtain copies of de-posited works that are involved in actualor prospective litigation. The revised reg-ulation was adopted af ter consultation withattorneys representing various copyrightand trade interests.Proposed Legislation.-At the requestof the Copyright Office, Congressman


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8 REPORT OF T H E R E GI ST E R O F C O P Y R I G H T S , I953

Chaunce~ . Reed, Chairman of the HouseCommittee on the Judiciary, introducedH. R. 2747 of the 83d Congress on February6, 1953, providing that when the last day fordepositing any material in the CopyrightOffice falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a holi-day, such deposit may be made on the nextbusiness day. A similar bill in the 82dCongress had passed the House in the clos-ing days of the session but had failed toreceive Senate consideration before ad-journment. H. R. 2747 was passed by theHouse on May 19, 1953, and was pendingbefore the Senate Committee on the Judici-ary a t the close of the fiscal year.Two bills introduced in the first sessionof the 83d Congress, S. 1106 and S. 1444,concern the "juke box" exemption, whichwas the subject of controversy at lengthyhearings during the previous session of Con-gress. At issue is the provision enacted in1909 excluding the playing of music oncoin-operated machines from the right ofthe copyright owner to receive royaltiesfor the public performance of his music forprofit. S. 1444 would simply repeal thisexemption. S. 1106 would limit the ex-emption to the owner of a single machinelocated in his own business establishment.Hearings on S. 1106 were held on July 15,1953, before a subcommittee of the SenateCommittee on the Judiciary and are ex-pected to be resumed in the fall of the year.Other bills concerning copyright shouldbe mentioned. Congressman EmanuelCeller reintroduced, as H. R. 397, his billin the 82d Congress (H. R. 4059) to elim-inate the requirement of manufacture inthe United States for works of foreign au-thors. H. R. 2584 would amend the rc-newal provisions in section 24 of the copy-right law to give the surviving spouse of adeceased author a prior right of renewalinstead of sharing that right with the de-ceased author's children. H. J. Res. 176proposes an amendment of the Constitutionto provide for copyright in perpetuity in-stead of for a limited time. Two otherbills relating to copyright were introducedafter the end of the fiscal year. H. R.6225, introduced July 10, 1953, would pro-

vide for a 3-year period of limitations oncivil actions under the copyright law.H. R. 6608, introduced on July 29, 1953,would liberalize the requirements of thelaw as to the form and position of thecopyright notice.Significant Court Decisions.-What is thecopyright status of a work of art embodiedin an article of utility? This fundamentalquestion has been involved in a series ofcases resulting in a conflict of opinionamong the courts. The plaintiffs, who arethe same in each of these cases, had reg-istered claims of copyright in a number ofstatuettes of dancing figures, which theythen used as bases for lamps manufacturedand sold by them. The several defendantsare lamp manufacturers who made andused copies of those statuettes as bases fortheir lamps. The first of the series of in-fringement suits brought by the plaintiff,Stein et al. v. Expert Lamp Company, 96F. Supp. 97, was decided by the FederalDistrict Court for the Northern Districtof Illinois in January 1951. The court,basing its decision on the premise that theplaintiffs had intended to use the statuettesas lamp bases, held that the lamps werethe subject of the plaintiffs claim and asarticles of utility could not be copyrighted.This decision was affirmed by the Courtof Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in May1951 (188 F. 2d, 61 1 , and certiorari wasdenied by the Supreme Court (342 U. S.829).The next case on a similar set of facts,Stein et al. v. Rosenthal, 103 F. Supp. 227,was brought in the Southern District ofCalifornia and decided in February 1952.The court held that the statuettes of them-selves were appropriate subjects of copy-right, regardless of the claimants' intentionas to their use, and that their incorporationinto lamps did not dissipate the copyrightprotection of the statuettes. The defend-ant appealed this decision to the Court ofAppeals for the Ninth Circuit.In the next of the series, Stein et al. v.Benederet, 109 F. Supp. 364, decided inDecember 1952, the District Court for theEastern District of Michigan reviewed the


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R E P O R T OF T H E R EG IS TE R OF COPYRLIGHTS, I953 9

Expert Lamp Company and Rosenthal de-cisions and followed the former, holdingthat the plaintiffs' intention to use the stat-uettes as lamp bases determined that thestatuettes were designs for lamps and assuch were not copyrightable.

Next, in February 1953, in Stein et al. v.Mazer et al., 11 1 F. Supp. 359, the DistrictCourt for the District of Maryland like-wise held that the plaintiffs' intention wasdecisive and followed the Expert LampC o m p a ny decision. The case was ap-pealed to the Court of Appeals for theFourth Circuit. Th e Copyright Officeworked with the Department of Jus-tice in preparing a brief amicus curiae,which was submitted to the Circuit Court.Testimony given by thc Register of Copy-rights in a deposition, as well as the amicusbrief, was considered by the Circuit Court.In May 1953 that Court reversed (204 F.2d, 472) the Maryland District Court.The Circuit Court rcviewed all of the fore-going decisions and declared its preferencefor the reasoning of the California court inthe Rosenthal case. The Circuit Courtconcludcd "that the copyrights of the stat-uettes granted to plaintiffs were valid, eventhough plaintiffs intended primarily to usethese statuettes in the form of lamp basesand did so use them."In June 1953 the Circuit Court of Ap-peals for the Ninth Circuit rendered itsdecision on the appeal in the Rosenthalcase (98 U . S. P. Q. 180), sustaining thelower court in holding the copyrights valid.The Circuit Court stated the principle"that the protection given by a copyrighton a work of art is not lost by its doubleservice of displaying its artistic qualitywhile supplying a practical function of autility article."

Thus, we now have decisions by theCourt of Appeals in three circuits, one de-nying copyright in the statuettes used aslamp bases and two sustaining copyright.Further litigation may be anticipated be-fore the important question involved in

these cases is settled, perhaps ultimatelyby the Supreme Court.

Another question of importance was de-cided by the Supreme Court in December1952 in the case of F. W . W o o l wo r th C o .v. Contemporary Arts, Inc., 343 U . S. 963.The. sole issue was the measure of damagesallowable under section 101(b) of thecopyright law, which provides that an in-fringer shall be liable for actual damagesuffered by the copyright proprietor, as wellas the profits made by the infringer, or, inlieu of actual damages and profits, suchdamages as appear just to the court withinlimits specified in the statute. The de-fendant, admitting its infringement of theplaintiffs copyright in sculptured figuresof cocker spaniels, had shown the amountof its profits from its sales of the infringingcopies, and there was no proof of actualdamages; but the lower court had alloweda greater amount of damages under the"in lieu" provisions of the statute. TheSupreme Court, with two justices dissent-ing, denied the defendant's contention thatits established profits were the only amountrecoverable and sustained the award of "inlieu" damages within the statutory limits.

An apparent trend toward the recog-nition of common law property rights inideas, which are not subject to copyrightprotection in themselves, is manifested inseveral recent court decisions. The latestof them is Belt v. Hamilton National Bank,108 F . Supp. 689, decided in December1952 by the United States District Courtfor the District of Columbia. The plain-tiff had submitted an idea for a radioprogram to the defendant bank, indicatingthat he expected compensation if it wereused, and the defendant subsequently spon-sored a series of radio programs based onthe plaintiff's idea. Citing three previouscases as precedents, the court held that if,as matters of fact, the idea was novel andwas presented in concrete form, the plain-tiff was entitled to compensation for its useby the bank.


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10 REPORT OF T H E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, I953

Statement o f Gross Cas h Receipts, (Yearly Fees, Numbers o f Registrations, etc., for 5 Fiscal YearsFiscal Year

Total. . . . . . . . . . . I 4 , 3 5 7 5 9 1 9 8 4 , 1 5 0 , 8 3 0 . 7 7 ( 1,034,319 1 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I IClass

Nurn ber o f Articles Deposited During the Fiscal Years 1949-53Subject matter of copyright I 1 9 4 9 1950 1 9 5 1 1 9 5 2 1 1 9 5 3

Books: 1 1 1 1 I(a) Printed in the United States:Books proper .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pam~hlets , eaflets. et c.. .....Coniributions to newspapersand periodlcak. .......... 3; 815 4: 437 3; 40 8 3; 320 I 3,288Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .( 6 ) Printed abroad in a foreign lan-guage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(c) Engllsh books registered for adinterim copyright. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .eriodicals.Lectures, sermons, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dramatic or dramatico-musical composi-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ionsMusical compositions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Maps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Works of art, models or designs. ..........Reproduction of works of ar t. . . . . . . . . . . . .Drawings or plastic works of a scientific ortechnical character. ...................Photographs. ..........................Prints, labels and pictorial illustrations. . . .Motion-picture photoplays.. .............Motion pictures not photoplays.. . . . . . . . . .

Total.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


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R E P O R T O F T H E R E G IS T ER O F C O P Y R I G H T S . I953

Registration by Subject Matter ClassesJor the Fiscal Years 1949-531949

10, 25433, 9294, 140

48, 3232, 644

59551, 56254, 1631. 036

5, 15948. 2102. 3143. 2812391. 0631. 13413. 2334. 3586671. 09613. 675

201. 190

1950

11, 32334, 3834, 438

50. 1443, 7101, 040

54, 89455, 4361, 0074. 42752.3091. 6384, 0133261, 3161. 14313. 3204. 30978 21. 11 314. 531

210. 564

Class-.A

BCDEFGHIJKKKLMR

Subject matter of copyright

Books:(a) Printed in the United States:Books proper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pamphlets, leaflets, etc .......Contribiltions to newspapersand periodicals . . . . . . . . . . .Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(b) Printed abroad in a foreign lan-guage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

( c ) English books registered for adinterim copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . .Total...........................Periodicals (numbers) ...................Lectures, sermons, addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dramatic or dramatico-musical compo-..............................itions ...................usical compositionsMaps.................................Works of art. mode$ or designs...........Reproductions of works of a rt ............Drawings or plastic works of a scientific ortechnical character ..............................................hotographs . . . . . . . . . . . .ommercial prints and labels . . . . . . . . . .rints and ~icto ria lllustrations...............otion-picture photoplays ...........otion pictures not photoplays..................enewals of all classes.............................otal

1953

} 43, 6313. 288

46. 9193, 8751, 553

52, 34759. 37186 23, 88459. 3022. 5413. 029579

95 81. 20612. 0253. 1269071. 26817. 101

218. 506

1951 1952.....1, 27231, 1993, 408-----5. 8793, 5361, 118-----0, 53355, 1296933, 99248.3191. 9923. 42845 3

95 377 011, 9813. 5908351. 31416. 372-----00. 354

11, 62329, 8913. 320

44, 8343, 3821, 187

49, 40356. 5098373, 76651. 5382. 4223. 30552 0

98 099511. 7702. 89179 81. 28 116. 690

203. 705


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REPORT O F T H E REGISTER O F COPYRIGHTS. I953

Summary of Copyright Business. Fiscal Year 7953BalanceonhandJulyl . 195 ..................................................Gross receipts July 1, 1952 to June 30, 1953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................otal to be accounted forRefunded ................................................... $38.098.33.......................................hecksreturned unpaid 736.00......................................eposited as earned fees 867.720.50Balance carried over to July 1. 1953:Fees earned in June 1953 but not deposited until .uly 1953 ................................. $73.174 50...................nfinished business balance 17.021.80Deposit accounts balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.062.87 175,259.17

Fees AppliedRegistrations for prints and labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. 025 a t 6 .00Registrations for published works ............................... 128. 888 at 4 .0 0Registrations for unpublished works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48. 848 at 4.00Registrations for renewals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17. 101 at 2 .00

Total number ofregistrations............................ 1 206. 862Feesfo r registrations.........................................................Fees for recording assignments................................. 20,655.50Fees for indexing transfen of proprietorship ...................... 9, 463.00Fees for notices of user recorded ................................ 4,485 .00Fees for certified documents................................... 2,101.00Feesforsearchesmade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,302.00Total fees earned....................................................... 865.302.50

1 Excludes 11. 644 registrations made under Public Law 84.Respectfully submitted.

ARTHUR ISHERRegister of Copyrights

WASHINGTON..C.August 15. 1953


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[Plus: Current Service Division Working Indcxes: Temporary Title Cards, Book-Author Cards, and Master Index (Rcmittcr) car ds. ]

CARD INDEXES AND CATALOGS USED IN REFERENCE SEARCHES mm1 8 7 0 7 5 1 8 8 0 8 5 1 8 9 0 9 5 1 9 0 0 0 5 1 9 1 0 1 5 1 9 2 0 2 5 1 9 3 0 35 1 9 4 0 4 5 1 9 5 0

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I HPeriodicals1 9 4 6 - 5 3CopyrightOfficeCardCatalog1 9 4 6 - 4 91 9 5 0 - 5 3

G en era lIndex1 9 3 8 - 4 5General Index1 8 7 0 - 9 7

4

%+IXmmmGrn$%n!?.eE03n9 1 2 - 3 7 Motion Pictures 1 9 3 8 - 4 5

Periodicals 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 3 7 ,Books 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 3 7Music 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 3 ' 7Graphic Arts 1 8 9 8 - 1 9 3 7

I

Renewals 1 9 0 9 - 3 7Map s 1 9 0 9 - 3 7

~ i s or in ted C u J d t i w Mot ion p ic tur e ca taiogs 1894-1912, 1912-39, 1940-49 vr .I Commercial Prints and Labels192240 11940-45 2CL)~ 8 t i c ef U s e1 9 0 9 - 2 7 1 9 2 8 - 5 3

Notice of Intention To Use1 9 0 9 - 5 3Assignments 1 8 7 0 - 1 9 4 1

Also printed Catalog. of Copyright Entries 1891-1953I I I I I 1 I I I I I I

I IAlso printed Cumul ative Drama Catalog 1870-1916 Dramas and Lectures 1 9 0 9 - 3 7


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REFERENCE SEARCH REQUESTS BY SUBJECT MATTER CLASSES, FISCAL YEAR 1953 wP0 5 10 1 5 2 0 2 5Mu s ic

Books andpamphletsUnclassified(preliminaries,addresses, etc.)

Renewalsm385 0 5 10 15 20 25 vGrap h ic a r t s* Unclassified 828 % c3inquiries ,Lectures and dramas %Publishers 28% :Periodicals mClaimants 18% mm

Assignments Lawyers 12 % mmCommercia l pr in ts Au th o rs 5 %and labels %D

Mo tio n p ic ture s Man u fac tu re r s 5 %QX4in tention t o use cnTo ta l 1 0 0 %

*Classes G H, I, 1, YI V)ul0

2,579I I I

,2,283

I I1,280

I586

Total , 8 ,670m


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REPORT O F T H E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, I953 15Publications of the Copyright Oflce

NOTE.-Orders for the following publications ma y be addressed to th e Register of Copyrights, Libraryof Congress, Washington 25, D. C., accompanied by remittance (postage stamps not accepted-coina t sender's risk).BULL ETIN NO. 8. Cloth, 65c.

Copyright in Congress, 1789-1904. A bibliography and chronological record of all proceedings inCongress in relation to copyright. 468 pp. 8'. 1905.

BULL ETIN NO. 14. Paper, 20c.Copyright Law of the United States of America. (Titl e 17 of the United States Code.) 1953.

BULL ETIN NO. 17. Cloth, 65c.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1909-1914. Second enlarged edition.

vi, 279 pp. 8'. 1928.BUL LET IN NO. 18. Cloth, $1.

Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1914-1917. ix, 605 pp. 8'. Ke-printed 1938.

BUL LET IN NO. 19. Cloth, $1.75.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1918-1924. xi, 477 pp. 8'. Re-

printed 1949.BULLETIN NO . 20. Cloth, $2.75.

Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1924-1935. xiii, 947 pp. 8'. Re-printed 1949.

BULLETIN NO. 21. Cloth, 75c.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1935-1937. vii, 355 pp. 8'. 1938.

BULLETIN NO . 22. Cloth, 75c.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1938-June 1939. vii, 327 pp. 8'.

1939.BULLETIN NO. 23. Cloth, $1.

Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1939-1940. vii, 391 pp. 8. 1943.BUL LET IN NO. 24. Cloth, $2.

Decisions of the Uni kd States courts involving copyright. 1941-1943. ix, 683 pp. 8'. 1944.BUL LET IN NO. 25. Cloth, $1.50.

Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1944-1946. vii, 459 pp. 8. 1947.BULLETIN NO. 26. Cloth, $1.75.

Decisions of the United Sta tes courts involving copyright. 1947-1948. x, 488 pp. 8. 1949.BULLETIN N O. 27. Cloth, $2.00.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1949-1950. x, 591 pp. 8'. 1952.

BULL ETIN NO. 28. Cloth.Decisions of the United States courts involving copyright. 1951-1952. In process.

CATALOG O F COPY RIGHT ENTRIES, Third Series.Subscription may be placed to th e complete annual set, consisting of th e semiannual issues of all of

the par ts listed below, for $20. Copies of single issues may also be secured a t the price given follow-ing the title in the following list:

Part 1A. Books and Selected Pamphlets, $1.50.Part 1B. Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals, $1.50.

NOTI? .--l3oo ksand Pamp hlelr includzng Serialaand Conlri bulionslo Periodicnrs (I'nrt I ) . neginnlng with t l ~ culy-1)ecrm.bc r 1953 catalog Pnrts 1A an d It ) will t~e omhincd un der one cover. 12.m.Part 2. Periodicals, $1.Parts 3-4. Dramas and Works Prepared for Or al Delivery, $1.Part 5A. Published Music, $1.50.Part 5B. Unpublished Music, $1.50.Part 5C. Renewal Registrations, Music, $1.Part 6. Maps and Atlases, $0.50.Parts 7-llA . Works of Art, Reproductions of Works of Art, Scientific and Technical Drawings,

Photographic Works, Prints and Pictorial Illustrations, $1.Part 11B. Commercial Prints and Labels, $1.Parts 12-13. Motion Pictures and Filmstrips, $0.50.


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16 REPORT OF T H E REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS, I953DRAMATIC COMPOSITIONS COPYRIGHTED IN THE UNITED STATES, 1870-1916. Cloth,

$4.Over 60,000 itles, alphabetically arranged, with complete index to authors, proprietors, translaton,etc. 2 vols. v, 3,547 pp. 4'. 1918.

MOTION PICTURES, 1894-1912, 1912-1 939, 1940-1949. (Catalog of Copyright Entries, Cumu-lative Series.) An unbroken record of motion-picture copyrights registered in this country between1894 and 1949. Together, these three bibliographies list more than 75,000 ilms, both theatrical andnontheatrical, which form an extensive history of the motion-picture industry. 92 p., $2.00; 1,256p.,$18.00; 599 p., $10.00, espectively.

REGULATIONS O F THE CO PYRIGHT OFFICE. Free.Code of Federal Regulations, Title 37,Chapter 11. 2 pp.TH E COPY RIGH T OFFICE OF TH E UNITED STATES. (Brochure). Free.A general description of the organization and functiorls of the Copyright Office. 23 pp. 1952.

V. I. 63V E RNM E NT P RINTINO OFFICE : 1984

US Copyright Office: ar-1953

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Transcript of US Copyright Office: ar-1953