668638-1886-International-and-Colonial-Copyright-Act- — Page 11

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My Lord,

THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 30TH OCTOBER, 1886.

No. 13.

The President of the Swiss Confederation to Earl Granville.-(Received August 25.)

(Translation.)

985

Berne, August 22, 1884.

WITH reference to our communications relative to the question of a general Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works, we have the honour to transmit to your Lordship a programme which may serve as a basis for the deliberations of the International Conference which will meet at Berne on the 8th September next.

We shall be much obliged if your Lordship will give the English Delegates instructions on the different points touched in the programme, which is, it is scarcely necessary to say, of a preliminary

nature:

In our opinion, the result of the deliberations of the Conference will afterwards be submitted to the consideration of the Governments, who will judge in a new Conference if there is cause for turning it into a diplomatic act.

A certain number of special questions having to be cleared up in this first Congress, several States propose to nominate amongst others as Delegates men particularly conversant with these questions. We consider it our duty to inform your Lordship that, in our opinion, this cannot fail to be very profitable for the elaboration of the work under consideration.

We avail, &c.

In the name of the Swiss Federal Council:

The President of the Confederation,

(Signed)

WELTI.

The Chancellor of the Confederation,

(Signed)

RINGIER.

Inclosure in No. 13.

(Translation.)

Programme proposed by the Swiss Federal Council for the International Conference at

Berne, September 8, 1884.

THE Contracting States (enumerated) are constituted into an. Union for the protection of the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works.

2. The subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting States shall enjoy in all the other States of the Union, as far as the protection of the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works is concerned, the same advantages as the respective laws at present accord or shall accord hereafter to nationals. They shall consequently have the same protection as the above, and the same legal recourse against any infringement of their rights, provided that the formalities and conditions prescribed by the legislation of the country of origin of the work have been accomplished.

3. Subjects or citizens of States not making part of the Union, who are domiciled, or who have caused their work to be edited, in the territory of one of the States of the Union, shall be treated as. subjects or citizens of the Contracting States.

4. The expression "literary or artistic works" comprises books, pamphlets, or all other writings; dramatic or dramatico-musical works, musical compositions with or without words, musical arrange- ments; works of design, painting, sculpture, engraving; lithographs, geographical charts, plans, scientific designs, and, in fact, every work whatever, literary, scientific, and artistic, which can be published by no matter what system of printing or reproduction.

5. The right of authors extends equally over manuscript or unpublished works.

6: Legal representatives or assigns of authors shall enjoy the same rights in every respect as those

I accorded by the present Convention to authors themselves

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7. Authors belonging to one of the Contracting States shall enjoy in all other States of the Union the exclusive right of translation for the whole period of their right over the original works. (It is proposed to add: "if they make use of this right within a period of ten years.")

This right comprises rights of publication, of representation, or of execution.

& An authorized translation is protected in the same manner as the original work.

When it is a question of the translation of a work already in the public domain, the translator cannot oppose its translation by other writers.

9. All pirated works can be seized when imported into those States of the Union in which the works have a right to legal protection. The seizure shall take place at the request either of the Public Department, or of the party interested, conformably to the domestic legislation of each State.