1. The Imperial Copyright Act shall, subject to the provisions of that Act and of this Order, apply to works first published in the United States of America during a period commencing on the third day of September, One thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine, and ending one year after the termination of all the wars in which His Majesty is engaged at the commencement of this Order which have not been re-published in the Commonwealth of Australia within fourteen days after the publication in the United States of America, in like manner as if they had first been published within the Commonwealth of Australia. 2. The enjoyment by any such work of the rights conferred by the Imperial Copyright Act shall be conditional upon publication of the work within the Commonwealth of Australia not later than one year after the date of termination of all the wars in which His Majesty is engaged at the commencement of this Order and shall commence from and after that publication, which shall not be colourable only but shall be intended to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public. 3. The provisions of section forty of the Copyright Act 1912–1935 as to the delivery of books to the Librarian of the Parliament shall apply to works to which this Order relates upon their publication in the Commonwealth of Australia. 4. Nothing in this Order shall be construed so as to deprive any work of any rights which have been lawfully acquired under the provisions of the Imperial Copyright Act or any Order thereunder. 5. Where any person has, before the commencement of this Order, taken any action whereby he has incurred any expenditure or liability in connexion with the reproduction or performance of any work which at the time was lawful, or for the purpose of or with a view to the reproduction or performance of a work at a time when that reproduction or performance would, but for the making of this Order, have been lawful, nothing in this Order shall diminish or prejudice any rights or interest arising through or in connexion with that action which were subsisting and valuable before the commencement of this Order, unless a person who, by virtue of this Order, becomes entitled to restrain that reproduction or performance agrees to pay such compensation as, failing agreement, is determined by arbitration. 6. In this Order, "the commencement of this Order" means the date on which this Order is published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. GIVEN under my Hand and the Seal of the Commonwealth, this ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord One Thousand nine hun(L.S.) dred and forty-seven and in the eleventh year of His Majesty's reign. By His Excellency's Command, (Sgd.) H. V. EVATT Attorney-General. UNITED STATES NOTE The Secretary of State to the Australian Ambassador EXCELLENCY: DEPARTMENT OF STATE WASHINGTON I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of today's date in which you refer to paragraph (b), section 9 of Title 17 of the United States Code, codified and enacted into positive law by the Act of Congress approved July 30, 1947, which authorizes the President to extend by proclamation the time for compliance with the conditions and formalities prescribed by the copyright laws of the United States of America with respect to works first produced or published outside the United States of America and subject to copyright under the laws of the United States of America when the authors, copyright owners, or proprietors of such works are or may have been temporarily unable to comply with those conditions and formalities because of the disruption or suspensions of the facilities essential to such compliance. You state that by reason of conditions arising out of World War II authors, copyright owners, and proprietors who are citizens of Australia have lacked during several years of the time since the outbreak of war between Australia and Germany on September 3, 1939, the facilities essential to compliance with and to the fulfillment of the conditions and formalities established by the laws of the United States of America relating to copyright. You express the desire of the Australian Government that, in accordance with the procedure provided in the above-mentioned section 9 of Title 17 of the United States Code, the time for fulfilling the conditions and formalities of the copyright laws of the United States of America be extended for the benefit of citizens of Australia whose works are eligible to copyright in the United States of America. You add that with a view to assuring the Government of the United States of America reciprocal protection for authors, copyright owners, and proprietors of the United States of America, the Governor-General has made an Order in Council, the text of which accompanies your note under acknowledgment, which will come into effect from the date on which the President of the United States of America shall proclaim, in accordance with the aforesaid Title 17 of the United States Code, that by reason of the disruption or suspension of facilities during several years of the time since September 3, 1939 citizens of Australia who are authors, copyright owners, or proprietors of works first produced or published outside the United States of America and subject to copyright, ad interim copyright, or renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America have been temporarily unable to comply with the conditions and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United States of America. You further state that the Australian Government is prepared, if this proposal should be accepted by the Government of the United States of America, to regard the note under acknowledgment and this Government's reply thereto to that effect as constituting an agreement between the two Governments, which shall take effect this day. I have the honor to inform you that, with a view to giving effect to the commitment proposed in the note under acknowledgment, the President has issued today a proclamation, a copy of which is annexed hereto, declaring and proclaiming, pursuant to the provisions of section 9 of the aforesaid Title 17 on the basis of the assurances set forth in your note and the Order in Council, annexed thereto, that as regards (1) works of citizens of Australia which were first produced or published outside the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939 and subject to copyright under the laws of the United States of America, including works subject to ad interim copyright, and (2) works of citizens of Australia subject to renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939, there has existed during several years of the time since September 3, 1939 such disruption or suspension of facilities essential to compliance with the conditions and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United States of America as to bring such works within the terms of the aforesaid Title 17, and that accordingly the time within which compliance with such conditions and formalities may take place is extended with respect to such works for one year after the date of the proclamation. The proclamation provides that it shall be understood that the term of copyright in any case is not and cannot be altered or affected by the President's action and that the extension is subject to the proviso of the said Title 17 that no liability shall attach thereunder for lawful uses made or acts done prior to the effective date of that proclamation in connection with the works to which it relates, or in respect to the continuance for one year subsequent to such date of any business undertaking or enterprise lawfully undertaken prior to such date involving expenditure or contractual obligation in connection with the exploitation, production, reproduction, circulation, or performance of any such work. The Government of the United States of America accordingly considers the agreement in regard to such extension of time to be in effect as of today's date. Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. DEAN ACHESON Enclosure: Copy of Proclamation. His Excellency The Honorable NORMAN J. O. MAKIN, Ambassador of Australia. PROCLAMATION COPYRIGHT EXTENSION: AUSTRALIA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS the President is authorized, in accordance with the conditions prescribed in section 9 of Title 17 of the United States Code, which includes the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1075, as amended by the act of September 25, 1941, 55 Stat. 732, to grant an extension of time for fulfillment of the conditions and formalities prescribed by the copyright laws of the United States of America, with respect to works first produced or published outside the United States of America and subject to copyright or to renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America, including works subject to ad interim copyright, by nationals of countries which accord substantially equal treatment to citizens of the United States of America; and WHEREAS the Governor-General of Australia has made an order, effective from this day, by the terms of which treatment substantially equal to that authorized by the aforesaid section 9 of Title 17 is accorded in Australia to literary and artistic works first produced or published in the United States of America during the period commencing on September 3, 1939, and ending one year after the termination of all the wars in which the Commonwealth of Australia is engaged at the commencement of this order; and WHEREAS the aforesaid order is annexed to and is part of an agreement embodied in notes exchanged this day between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Australia; and WHEREAS, by virtue of a proclamation by the President of the United States of America dated April 9, 1910 (36 Stat. 2685), citizens of Australia are, and since July 1, 1909, have been, entitled to the benefits of the aforementioned act of March 4, 1909, other than the benefits of section 1(e) of that act; and WHEREAS, by virtue of a proclamation by the President of the United States of America, dated April 3, 1918 (40 Stat. 1764), the citizens of Australia are, and since March 15, 1918, have been, entitled to the benefits of section 1(e) of the aforementioned act of March 4, 1909: NOW, THEREFORE, I, HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States of America, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the aforesaid Title 17, do declare and proclaim: That with respect to (1) works of citizens of Australia which were first produced or published outside the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939, and subject to copyright under the laws of the United States of America, including works subject to ad interim copyright, and (2) works of citizens of Australia subject to renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939, there has existed during several years of the time since September 3, 1939, such disruption or suspension of facilities essential to compliance with the conditions. and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United States of America as to bring such works within the terms of the aforesaid Title 17, and that, accordingly, the time within which compliance with such conditions and formalities may take place is hereby extended with respect to such works for one year after the date of this proclamation. It shall be understood that the term of copyright in any case is not and cannot be altered or affected by this proclamation, and that, as provided by the aforesaid Title 17, no liability shall attach under the said Title for lawful uses made or acts done prior to the effective date of this proclamation in connection with above-described works, or in respect to the continuance for one year subsequent to such date of any business undertaking or enterprise lawfully entered into prior to such date involving expenditure or contractual obligation in connection with the exploitation, production, reproduction, circulation, or performance of any such work. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this 29th day of Dec. in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-nine and of the In[SEAL] dependence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-fourth. HARRY S. TRUMAN By the President: DEAN ACHESON Secretary of State |