Document Type

Report

Publication Date

3-2-1907

Abstract

We disagree with a portion of the majority report submitted by the Committee on Patents on House bill 25133, reported on January 30, 1907.

The bill is a redraft of House bill 19853, which was introduced in this House on May 31, 1906. In its original form the bill had a provision (subdivision g, section 1) securing to musical composers the exclusive right to reproduce their compositions by mechanical means, such as perforated rolls and disk or cylinder records.

The greater part of the time given by the committee to public hearings on this bill was taken up by the consideration of this provision.

In these hearings the fact was brought out very strongly that the manufacture of devices for the mechanical reproduction of music has assumed gigantic proportions and is still growing in bulk of output, as well as in the range of practical application.

Though its beginnings date back but a few years, this industry is now producing and marketing every year many millions of perforated music rolls for player pianos and of records for talking machines. While there has been much conflicting argument as to whether these appliances are proper subjects of copyright, it is not questioned that each of them represents a musical composition and will, when operated with a proper instrument, reproduce the music of that composition to the ear.

Comments

Part P

59th Congress, 2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. { Report No. 7083, part 2. 

TO AMEND AND CONSOLIDATE THE ACTS RESPECTING COPYRIGHT. 

March 2, 1907.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on thee state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Download

Share

COinS