980 THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 30TH OCTOBER, 1886.
Correspondence respecting the Formation of an International Copyright Union.
My Lord,
No. 1.
M. Vernet to Earl Granville.-(Received December 18.)
25, Old Broad Street, December 17, 1883.
I HAVE the honour to forward to your Lordship a Circular note from the Swiss Federal Council, which they addressed to the Governments of all civilized countries, inviting them to take part in Diplomatic Conference with a view to protecting literary and artistic property.
The note is accompanied by two copies of the official Report of the Conference of the International Literary Association, which took place at Berne in September last.*
(Circular.) Excellency,
I am, &c.
(Signed)
H. VERNET,
Agent and Consul-General for Switzerland.
Inclosure in No. 1.
The President of the Swiss Confederation to Earl Granville.
(Translation.)
Berne, December 3, 1883.
•
THE protection of the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (literary and artistic property) is becoming more and more the object of International Conventions. It is, in fact, in the nature of things that the work of man's genius, when it has once seen the light, can no longer be restricted to one country and to one nationality. If it possesses any value, it is not long in spreading itself in all countries, under forms which may vary more or less, but which, however, leave in its essence and its principal manifestations the creative idea. This is why, after all civilized States have recognized. and guaranteed by their domestic legislation the right of writer and of artist over his work, the impe- rative necessity has been shown of protecting this right also in international relations, which multiply and grow daily. This need has been supplied by the numerous Conventions concluded between the principal States during the last few years.
But whatever advantage these Conventions present, it must first be recognized that they are far from protecting the author's rights in a uniform, efficacious, and complete manner.
This inefficiency is, without doubt, connected with the divergency of national laws, which the conventional régime has necessarily been obliged to take into account.
The inequalities, and even the grave omissions, which the present international law present cannot fail strongly to affect those concerned, authors, editors, or other interested parties. We therefor see the greatest efforts produced on their part in order to secure, on the one hand, universal recognitio of the rights of authors without distinction of nationality, and, on the other, the desirable uniformit in the principles which regulate the question.
It is, in a great manner, in order to realize this end that the International Literary Association was founded in 1866, which reckons among its members eminent representatives of a great number of countries, and which, from that time, has held every year a general Congress in the different capitals of Europe.
On the initiative of that Association, a Conference of Delegates was assembled at Berne in the month of September last, in order to discuss the bases of a general Union for the protection of the rights of authors. It has elaborated, with this view, a project of Convention destined to be submitted? to the favourable consideration of the Governments of all civilized countries, and it has asked the Swiss Federal Council to be good enough to transmit it to them, proposing at the same time that a Diplomatic Conference be called together to examine it.
In consideration of the usefulness and of the greatness of the work aimed at, which responds to a feeling of justice universally admitted, the Swiss Federal Council has not hesitated to accept the mission. It acquits itself of this mission to-day by sending you the procès-verbaux of the Literary International Conference at Berne,* which comprise, p. 19, the project of Convention which the Confer- ence would desire to see adopted by all States.
The Federal Council has not hid from the initiators of this project that it sees difficulties in its im- mediate realization in its entirety. In fact, the Conventions recently concluded, or in force for the las few years, are more or less in contradiction with such or such part of the dispositions of this project, and it is not to be expected that these Conventions can easily be modified before they lapse.
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