Thorvald Solberg (April 22, 1852 – July 15, 1949) was the first

Register of Copyrights The Register of Copyrights is the director of the United States Copyright Office within the Library of Congress, as provided by . The Office has been headed by a Register since 1897. The Register is appointed by, and responsible to, the Librar ...

(1897–1930) in the

United States Copyright Office The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists ...

. He was a noted authority on

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

and played an instrumental role in shaping the

Copyright Act of 1909 The Copyright Act of 1909 () was a landmark statute in United States statutory copyright law. It went into effect on July 1, 1909. The 1909 Act was repealed and superseded by the Copyright Act of 1976, which went into effect on January 1, 1978; ...

Early life

Thorvald Solberg was born in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

. He was the eldest of six children born of immigrant Norwegian parents. Solberg attended public schools, working for booksellers after graduation in Manitowoc,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, and

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. On May 1, 1876, Solberg began working in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as a cataloguer. In 1876, he became part of the Library's law department staff, despite not being a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. While there, he played an active role in the direction and control of the Library's

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

and deposit functions. He remained in that position until he left the Library altogether in 1889 to work for the Boston Book Company.

Register of Copyrights

In 1897,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

created the

as a separate department of the Library of Congress to handle the administrative functions of copyright law. Solberg was widely supported to become the first head of the Office due to his growing reputation as a national authority on copyright (and due to some lobbying on his own part for the post). After being interviewed by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, Solberg was appointed by Librarian of Congress

John Russell Young John Russell Young (November 20, 1840 – January 17, 1899) was an American journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh Librarian of the United States Congress from 1897 to 1899. He was invited by Ulysses S. Grant to accompany him on a world ...

and took office as the first

on July 22, 1897, with an annual salary of $3000 and a staff of 29 clerks. During his tenure as Register, Solberg played an active role in advancing United States copyright law. He advocated copyright reform and was instrumental in the passage of the

, one of the most significant revisions in United States copyright law. He was known as a champion for the rights of authors and supported relaxing the registration and deposit requirements of copyright law, consistent with the shift away from

copyright formalities Copyright formalities are legal (generally statutory) requirements needed to obtain a copyright in a particular jurisdiction. Common copyright formalities include copyright registration, copyright renewal, copyright notice, and copyright depos ...

in the Berne Convention. Solberg also pushed for the United States to join the Berne Convention. Thorvald Solberg retired as Register on April 21, 1930, his 78th birthday. He remains the longest-serving Register of Copyrights.

Personal life

Thorvald Solberg was married to Mary Adelaide Nourse of

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

. He resided on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

when he began his stint as Register of Copyrights. In 1914, Solberg moved to

Glen Echo, Maryland Glen Echo is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, that was chartered in 1904. The population was 279 at the 2020 census. History Glen Echo derives its name from the name of the lots developed by Edward and Edwin Baltzley, * * ...

, where he resided until his death. Solberg was a prolific writer, and he compiled several bibliographies and compilations of United States and foreign copyright laws.

Selected writings

*''Copyright in Congress 1789-1904: A Bibliography, and Chronological Record of all Proceedings in Congress in Relation to Copyright from April 15, 1789, to April 28, 1904, First Congress, 1st Session, to Fifty-eighth Congress, 2d Session'', (Government Printing Office, February 1905) *''Copyright Law Reform'',

The Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...

, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Nov., 1925), pp. 48–75 *''The International Copyright Union'',

, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Nov., 1926), pp. 68–111 *''The Present Copyright Situation'',

, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Dec., 1930), pp. 184–214

Citations

Biography of Thorvald Solberg
U.S. Copyright Office
U.S. Copyright Office History
*

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solberg, Thorvald 1852 births 1949 deaths American people of Norwegian descent Copyright scholars People from Glen Echo, Maryland People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin Writers from Maryland United States Registers of Copyright Writers from Wisconsin