Home International Copyright Act 1891 Uncover the International Copyright Act of 1891

Uncover the International Copyright Act of 1891

Uncover the International Copyright Act of 1891

The
International Copyright Act of 1891 served as a revision to the Copyright Act
of 1870. The revisions made in 1891 gave limited protection to foreign
copyright holders for the first time. The Act, commonly referred to as the
Chace Act after Rhode Island senator Jonathan Chace, was passed by the 51st Congress
on March 3rd, 1891. The first international copyright protected by the 1891 Act
was a play titled
 Saints and Sinners by British author Henry
Arthur Jones.

The American Copyright League was an organization
that supported the establishment of a movement that would eventually lead to
the creation of the International Copyright Act of 1891. They had been
supporters of the original Copyright Act established in 1870 but wanted
international copyright protection. Other popular writers who wished copyright
laws would extend beyond the United States included Mark Twain, Louisa May
Alcott, and Edward Eggleston. All of these writers sent letters to the
 Century Journal stating
their case and the need for international copyright laws.

Before the International Copyright Act of 1891, a
creator of an original work had to gain residency in the country in which they
wished to be protected by copyright laws. This is not an effective way of
establishing international copyright laws. If an author was willing to include
a citizen of a foreign country as a collaborator in their work, that work could
be copyright protected in the collaborator’s home land.

The Act offered protection to any nation willing
to enter into an agreement with the United States regarding copyright laws that
could be shared between nations. Foreign relations played a role in agreements
between nations aside from entering into agreements together. If a country was
willing to protect the rights of American copyrighted material, a presidential
proclamation could be made granting a foreign nation the same rights.