Proclamation 1582—Copyright—Denmark

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Whereas, it is provided by the Act of Congress of March 4, 1909, entitled "An Act to Amend and Consolidate the Acts Respecting Copyright/' that the provisions of Section I (e) of said Act, "so far as they secure copyright controlling the parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work, shall include only compositions published and copyrighted after this Act goes into effect, and shall not include the works of a foreign author or composer unless the foreign state or nation of which such author or composer is a citizen or subject grant, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States similar rights":

And whereas it is further provided that the copyright secured by the Act shall extend to the work of an author or proprietor who is a citizen or subject of a foreign state or nation, only upon certain conditions set forth in section 8 of said Act, to-wit:

(a) When an alien author or proprietor shall be domiciled within the United States at the time of the first publication of his work; or

(b) When the foreign state or nation of which such author or proprietor is a subject grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright on substantially the same basis as to its own citizens, or copyright protection substantially equal to the protection secured to such foreign author under this Act or by treaty; or when such foreign state or nation is a party to an international agreement which provides for reciprocity in the granting of copyright, by the terms of which agreement the United States may, at its pleasure, become a party thereto:

And whereas it is further provided by the Act of Congress approved December 18, 1919, "that all works made the subject of copyright by the laws of the United States first produced or published abroad after August 1, 1914, and before the date of the President's proclamation of peace, of which the authors or proprietors are citizens or subjects of any foreign state or nation granting similar protection for works by citizens of the United States, the existence of which shall be determined by a copyright proclamation issued by the President of the United States, shall be entitled to the protection conferred by the copyright laws of the United States from and after the accomplishment, before the expiration of fifteen months after the date of the President's proclamation of peace, of the conditions and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United States: Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to deprive any person of any right which he may have acquired by the republication of such foreign work in the United States prior to the approval of this Act."

And whereas the President is authorized to determine and declare by proclamation the existence of similar protection for works by citizens of the United States as the purposes of the Act may require;

And whereas satisfactory official assurance has been given by the Government of Denmark that the Royal decrees of February 22, 1913, issued by virtue of the authority conferred by the Danish Copyright Law of April 1, 1912, extending to American authors the rights and privileges conferred by that law (including reproduction by mechanical instruments and cinematographic representation), were not cancelled during the war and that if protection is granted in the United States to works by Danish authors which have been published during the war, protection in Denmark for American authors would take effect automatically.

Now therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do hereby declare and proclaim:

1. That one of the alternative conditions specified in Section 1 (e) and 8 (b) of the Act of March 4, 1909, and acts amendatory thereof, including the Act of December 18, 1919, now exists and is fulfilled in respect to the subjects of Denmark, and that such Danish subjects are entitled to all the benefits of the Copyright Act of March 4, 1909, and the acts amendatory thereof, including the Act of December 18, 1919, for all of their works first published in Denmark between August 1, 1914, and before the President's proclamation of peace, and not already republished in the United States:

Provided that the enjoyment by any work of the rights and benefits conferred by the Copyright Act of March 4, 1909, and the acts amendatory thereof, including the Act of December 18, 1919, shall be conditional upon compliance with the requirements and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United .States before the expiration of fifteen months after the date of the President's proclamation of peace, and shall commence from and after compliance with those requirements, constituting due registration for copyright in the United States.

2. That in the case of musical works to which this proclamation relates, and provided that no contrivances, including records, perforated rolls and other devices by means of which the work may be mechanically performed, have been lawfully made or placed on sale within the United States before the date of this proclamation, copyright shall include the special benefit of Section 1 (e) of the Copyright Act of March 4, 1909, namely "copyright controlling the parts of instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical work."

3. Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to abrogate or limit any rights and benefits conferred under the reciprocal arrangements with Denmark heretofore proclaimed.

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done in the District of Columbia this ninth day of December in the year of our Lord, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty, and of the Independence Of the United States of America the one hundred and forty-fifth.

WOODROW WILSON.

By the President:

Norman H. Davis, Acting Secretary of State.