The law imposes a penalty of $100 upon any person who has not obtained copyright who shall insert the notice “Entered according to act of Congress,” etc., or words of the same import, in or upon any book or other article.
5. Any author may reserve the right to translate or dramatize his own work. In this case notice should be given by printing the words, Right of translation reserved; or, All rights reserved, below the notice of copyright entry, and notifying the Librarian of Congress of such reservation, to be entered upon the record.
6. Each copyright secures the exclusive right of publishing the book or article copyrighted for a term of twenty-eight years. At the end of that time, the author or designer, or his widow or children, may secure a renewal for the further term of fourteen years, making forty-two years in all. Applications for renewal must be accompanied by explicit statement of ownership in the case of the author, or of relationship in the case of his heirs, and must state definitely the date and place of entry of the original copyright.
7. The time within which any work copyrighted may be issued from the press is not limited by any law or regulation, but depends upon the discretion of the proprietor. A copyright may be secured for a projected work as well as for a completed one.
8. Any copyright is assignable in law by any instrument of writing, but such assignment must be recorded in the office of the Librarian of Congress within sixty days from its date. The fee for this record is fifteen cents for every 100 words, and ten cents for every 100 words for a copy of the record of assignment.
9. A copy of the record (or duplicate certificate) of any copyright entry will be furnished under seal, at the rate of fifty cent each.
10. In the case of books published in more than one volume, if issued or sold separately, or of periodicals published in numbers, or of engravings, photographs, or other articles published with variations, a copyright is to be taken out for each volume of a book, or number of a periodical, or variety, as to size or inscription, of any other article.
11. To secure a copyright for a painting, statue, or model or design intended to be perfected as a work of the fine arts, so as to prevent infringement by copying, engraving, or vending such design, a definite description must accompany the application for copyright, and a photograph of the same, at least as large as “cabinet size,” must be mailed to the Librarian of Congress within ten days from the completion of the work.
12. Every applicant for a copyright must state distinctly the name and residence of the claimant, and whether the right is claimed as author, designer, or proprietor. No affidavit or formal application is required.
Up to 1849 the Secretary of State had the care of issuing copyrights. It was then assigned to the newly created Department of the Interior, and so remained until 1870, when it was transferred to the Librarian of Congress.