Legal Definitions - Chace Act

The Chace Act, also known as the 1891 Copyright Amendment Act, was a pivotal United States law passed in 1891. Its primary purpose was to extend copyright protection within the U.S. to creative works by citizens of other countries. This protection was not automatic; it was granted only if those foreign nations, in turn, offered similar copyright protections to works created by U.S. citizens. This arrangement was typically established through a presidential order or an international treaty, mainly with European nations at the time.

A notable feature of the Act was its "manufacturing clause," which stipulated that English-language books and other printed materials by foreign authors had to be physically produced (printed and bound) in the United States or Canada to qualify for U.S. copyright protection.

• Example 1: A French Novelist's Work

  In the late 19th century, a renowned French novelist publishes a new book in Paris. Before the Chace Act, this book could be freely copied and sold in the U.S. without the author receiving any royalties or having legal recourse. After the Chace Act was enacted, and following a presidential proclamation recognizing France's reciprocal copyright laws, this French novelist's work could now receive copyright protection in the United States.

  This example illustrates the core principle of the Chace Act: extending U.S. copyright to foreign citizens (the French novelist) because their home country (France) offered similar protections to U.S. authors, thereby establishing reciprocity.

• Example 2: A British Poet's Collection

  A famous British poet compiles a new collection of English-language poems in London in 1895. To ensure this collection received copyright protection in the United States, the poet's publisher had to arrange for the entire book to be printed and bound either in the U.S. or Canada, even though the original edition was produced in the UK.

  This highlights the "manufacturing clause" of the Chace Act. Despite the UK being a reciprocal nation, the English-language nature of the work required its physical production in North America to secure U.S. copyright.

• Example 3: A German Composer's Symphony

  A German composer completes a new symphony in 1900. Germany had entered into a treaty with the United States under the provisions of the Chace Act, ensuring mutual copyright recognition. As a result, when the symphony was first performed and published in Germany, it automatically gained copyright protection in the United States, preventing unauthorized performances or publications there without the composer's permission.

  This demonstrates how the Act was invoked through international agreements (treaties) and how it protected various forms of creative works, not just books, from countries that reciprocated.