NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

composers; and (3) would extend Section 1 of the Copyright Act of 1909 to the broadcasting of literary works. The NAB has not opposed the entry of the United States into the International Copyright Union nor has it opposed the theory of automatic copyright; provided the authors of literary and artistic works are required to register and record such works as at present. The Luce bill, however, would eliminate all requirements of regis¬ tration and recordation. The bill would extend the life of a copyright and would do away with the requirement that works must be published in this country as a prerequisite to obtaining copyright. Section 4 of the bill would grant to authors of literary works substantially the same right which composers of musical works now have in the public performance for profit of their creations. Under this section the right of the author to oppose distortion, mutilation and other modification of his work would subsist in him notwithstanding the assignment of his copyright. It would give to the author of the work the right to restrain the broadcasting of such mutilated work. The bill in full text follows: “That copyright throughout the United States and its dependen¬ cies shall subsist in the work of alien authors, not domiciled in the United States, by virtue of the adherence of the United States to the Convention of Berne for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of September 9, 1886, as revised at Rome on June 2, 1928. “Sec. 2. From and after the date upon which the adherence of the United States to the said convention of 1928 becomes effective, copyright nrotection shall be accorded without compliance with any conditions or formalities whatever for all works by such alien authors who are nationals of any country which is a member of the International Copyright Union, as well as for any work which may be or has been first published in a country which is a member of the said Union: Provided, That as to copyright in works not pre¬ viously copyrighted in the United States, no right or remedy given pursuant to this Act shall prejudice lawful acts done or rights in or in connection with copies lawfully made or the continuance of business undertakings or enterprises lawfully undertaken within the United States or any of its dependencies prior to the date on which the adherence of the United States to the said convention of 1928 goes into force; and the author or other owner of such copyright or person claiming under him shall not be entitled to bring action against any person who has prior to such date taken any action in connection with the exploitation, production, reproduction, circulation, or performance (in a manner which at the time was not unlawful) of any such work whereby he has incurred any substantial expenditure or liability. “Sec. 3. Copyright is hereby granted and secured by this Act to all authors entitled thereto from and after the creation of their work, whether published or unpublished, including works of archi¬ tecture and choreographic works and pantomimes, and the duration and termination of such copyright shall be governed by the provi¬ sions of sections 23 and 24 of the Act of March 4, 1909 (U. S. C., title 17): Provided, That the duration of copyright in the United States shall not in the case of the work of any alien author extend beyond the date upon which such work has fallen into the public domain in the country of its origin as defined in said convention of 1928. “Sec. 4. The rights granted in Section 1 of the said Act of 1909 (U. S. C., title 17) shall include the exclusive right of the author to communicate his work for profit to the public by any system of broadcasting: and the author of any copyrighted work, even after the assignment of the conyright in such work, shall at all times have the right to claim the authorship of his work, and the right to opDose every distortion, mutilation, or other modification of the said work which might be prejudicial to his honor or to his reputa¬ tion, as well as the right to restrain the publication and/or the performance of the mutilated work. “Sec. S. The Supreme Court of the United States shall prescribe such additional or modified rules and regulations as may be neces¬ sary for practice and procedure in any action, suit, or proceeding instituted for infringement under the provisions of this Act. “Sec. 6. This Act shall take effect from the date of its passage.” SECURITY BILL BECOMES LAW President Roosevelt, May 27, signed the Securities Act which grants broad regulatory powers to the Federal Trade Commission. The bill covers the advertising of securities by radio and requires copies of the addresses to be filed with the Commission. Fortv davs after signing the Act will take effect. As reported bv the Committee on Banking and Currency the purpose of this bill is to protect the investing public and honest business. The basic policy is that of informing the investor of the facts concerning securities to be offered for sale in interstate and foreign commerce and providing protection against fraud and mis¬ representation. The aim is to prevent further exploitation of the public by the sale of unsound, fraudulent, and worthless securities through mis¬ representation; to place adequate and true information before the investor; to protect honest enterprise, seeking capital by honest presentation, against the competition afforded by dishonest securi¬ ties offered to the public through crooked promotion ; to restore the confidence of the prospective investor in his ability to select sound securities; to bring into productive channels of industry and de¬ velopment capital which has grown timid to the point of hoarding ; and to aid in providing employment and restoring buying and consuming power. The principal duty of carrying out the purposes of the bill is placed upon the Federal Trade Commission. It is intended that those responsible for the administration and enforcement of the law shall have full and adequate authority to procure whatever information may be necessary or material in carrying out the pro¬ visions of the bill. It has been deemed essential to refrain from placing upon anv federal agency the duty of passing judgment upon the soundness of any security. Moreover, care has been taken to prevent the public from being led to believe that the federal govern¬ ment under the proposed law passes upon the soundness of any security, and to represent that any security has been so approved as to its soundness is declared to be unlawful (sec. 10). This bill is intended to be self-sustaining through the payment of filing fees of one one-hundredth of 1 per cent of the value of the securities registered (sec. S, subd. (e) ) with a minimum of $25. This fee is, of course, to be covered into the Treasury of the United States (sec. 17). The bill contains six main features: 1. Registration of information with the Federal Trade Com¬ mission. 2. Supervision of advertisements of securities. 3. Revocation and suspension of registration. 4. Exemptions. 5. Personal responsibility. 6. Remedies in case of fraud. 1. Registration of Information with the Federal Trade Commission (Secs. 3 to 5) The bill requires registration or filing of information with the Federal Trade Commission when a person or corporation is about to sell securities in interstate commerce. The issuer who sells securities without previous registration subjects himself to both civil and criminal penalties. 2. Supervision of Advertisements of Securities (Sec. 8) The bill sets forth somewhat in detail what information is re¬ quired in advertisements including data as the amount of bonuses, discounts, rebates, and commissions given by the issuer, under¬ writers and others, the net return to capital investment, the names of the officers and directors and those responsible for the security, and a statement that further information can be secured by apply¬ ing to the Commission. It also requires the issuer or his representa¬ tives when delivering stock to a purchaser to furnish the purchaser with written information similar to that in the advertisements. It subjects the issuer of securities, on failure to advertise essential facts, to penalties similar to those applicable where he fails to register information with the Commission. The registration and advertising requirements for private foreign securities are the same as those applied to domestic securities. Provision is made, however, that where because of limited size of anv advertisement it is impracticable to set forth all the informa¬ tion, the Commission may prescribe by rules or regulations what parts thereof or other information should be given in the interest of the protection of the public. Such provision affords the flexibility necessary to meet varying conditions in a practical way. Radio Broadcasts Section 10 (d) provides: “In any case where a prospectus con¬ sists of a radio broadcast, copies thereof shall be filed with the Commission under such rules and regulations as it shall pre¬ scribe. . . .” • Page 58 »