By JEANNE SMITH
During a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Copyright Act of 1870, Dr. Billington cited the importance of copyright deposits to the growth of the Library of Congress over the last 125 years.
The 1870 act centralized copyright registration and deposits in the Library of Congress, requiring the submission of two copies of copyrighted works.
In the Jefferson Building's Great Hall, Dr. Billington on July 11 praised the Copyright Office's contributions and said the anniversary comes at a "particularly exciting" time.
"We face new challenges with the development of new 'information highway' technology -- both in securing intellectual property protection and in the expansion of access to knowledge and information. So we should look at copyright in this new technological context," said Dr. Billington.
"In 1790 Congress passed the first copyright law, and 10 years later, established the Library of Congress. No subsequent legislation was more important to the Library than the 1870 law that finally transferred the 'copyright business' from federal courts to the Library of Congress. The law required all authors, poets, composers, artists, publishers and map makers to deposit in the Library two copies of every work registered in the United States -- producing in time a vast permanent archives of American creativity for the benefit of future generations of researchers.
"Protection of intellectual property is, of course, one of the keys to the success of the new electronic superhighway system," he added. "The primary purpose of copyright legislation is to foster the creation and dissemination of intellectual works for the public welfare. The copyright law tries to strike a fair balance between the rights of the creators to control the dissemination of their works and the public interest in their widest dissemination."
Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters looked to the future in her remarks, saying, "We will continue to enhance the collections of the Library not only through transfer of copyright deposits but also through an electronic system being developed that will allow for paperless copyright registration and deposit. ... The establishment of an electronic copyright system will be an important step toward advancing the Library's development of its own digital archives and enabling wide access to it."
Joining the Librarian in congratulating the Copyright Office staff members on the anniversary was Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Calif.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee. He cited "the importance of the Copyright Office to the Library and the work of the office in advancing the principles of copyright in a changing technological world" in remarks that also were published in the Congressional Record. He also noted that "by brining copyright into the Library of Congress the law also provided the basis for making the Library what it is today -- our nation's library, whose collections are a reflection of the entire breadth of American creativity."
A prepared statement by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was read at the celebration by committee counsel Shawn Bentley. In his statement, also delivered that morning on the floor of the Senate, Sen. Hatch described the history of copyright law in the United States and praised the Copyright Office because it "provides Congress with nonpartisan analysis of copyright law and implements all aspects of this law."
"It also serves as a valuable resource to the domestic and international copyright communities. The office registers almost 600,000 works a year."
In a statement appearing in the Congressional Record, Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R-Oregon), chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, said, "It is hard to overemphasize the importance of copyright deposits to the collections of the Library and the resulting growth of the institution. Within a decade after the 1870 statute, the Library's collections tripled. When foreign works were granted U.S. copyright protection in 1891, many works from other countries were brought into the Library through copyright deposit.
"Among the works the Library has received through copyright deposit are the first edition of a Dvorak opera, an unpublished composition by the 14-year-old Aaron Copland, all the network news programs since the 1960s, rare performances by artists such as Martha Graham captured on videotape, and important Civil War and Spanish-American War photographs.
"The importance of the copyright deposits to the Library continues today," Sen. Hatfield said. "Some of the Library's most heavily used collections, such as the local history and genealogy collection, would hardly exist were it not for copyright deposit. In fiscal 1994, the value of works received through copyright deposit was estimated at more than $15 million. The acquisition of these works could not have been accomplished through purchasing and gifts."
Jeanne Smith is a public affairs specialist in the Public Affairs Office.