The Treloar Copyright Bill was a revision of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive 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, education ...

laws introduced February 13, 1896, in the first session of the

54th United States Congress The 54th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 189 ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(H.R.) 5976 by

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9th District Representative

William M. Treloar William Mitchellson Treloar (September 21, 1850 – July 3, 1935) was an American music professor, composer, music publisher, and U.S. Representative from Missouri. Treloar was born near Linden, Wisconsin, and attended the local common schools ...

. The bill was then extensively revised, and was later reintroduced as H.R. 8211. The bill incorporated two other pending bills (which were ultimately passed on their own) to create a

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 Librarian ...

(called a "commissioner" in the Treloar Bill), and to expand protections for public performance of

copyrighted A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive 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, education ...

works, including

music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

, for the first time. The bill would have also extended the term of copyright by 22 years, from 24 years and a 14-year extension (38 years) to 40 years and a 20-year extension (60 years). The law would have extended the manufacturing clause of the 1891

International Copyright Act International Copyright Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States which relates to foreign copyright. List United Kingdom :The International Copyright Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c.12) :The Internationa ...

to include most items excluded in 1891, including music, maps, etc. The bill was extensively criticized in the press, especially for extending the manufacturing clause, and was strongly opposed by copyright leagues formed by authors and publishers. The bill was the subject of extensive lobbying efforts from both supporters and opponents. Although it didn't make it out of the Committee on

Patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

, some of its provisions did later pass.

References

{{Reflist, 30em, refs= Text of bill, as introduced in Congress
/ref> Letter from John P. Rechten, Edward Schuberth & Co., to

Robert Underwood Johnson Robert Underwood Johnson (January 12, 1853 – October 14, 1937) was an American writer, poet, and diplomat. Biography Robert Underwood Johnson was born in Centerville, Indiana, on January 12, 1853. His brother Henry Underwood Johnson b ...

, March 21, 1891 (on file with the Robert Underwood Johnson Papers, Manuscripts & Archives Division,

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

) "Treloar Copyright Bill: Hearing Before House Committee on Patents"
(comprehensive bill to reform copyright), March 19 & 20, 1896, Alfred Mudge & Sons, Printers (1896), pps. 13 & 73 (see Treloar Copyright Bill)

Sources

* Rosen, Zvi S., "The Twilight of the Opera Pirates: A Prehistory of the Right of Public Performance for Musical Compositions". ''Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal'', Vol. 24, 2007. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=963540. (The third section deals with the entire history of the bill). United States federal copyright legislation 1896 in American law

See also

References

Sources