CHAP. vir] COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION 1227
copyright in the United States only on condition of setting
up their works in type within the limits of that country,
while an American author would automatically obtain copy-
tight in Canada by publishing merely in the United Kingdom.
In view of the complicated position of affairs the Imperial
Government appointed a Departmental Committee repre-
senting the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office, the Board. of
Trade,and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, to consider
the Canadian Copyright Act of 1889, In their report! the
Committee pointed out that the Canadian Act was incon-
sistent with the Berne Convention, as the Canadian Govern-
ment recognized, and that if Canada withdrew from the
Berne Convention the Act of 1886 would also cease to apply
to Canada, and Canadian authors would cease to have copy-
tight in the United Kingdom or in any other part of the
British Dominions except Canada ; and the author of a
book first published in any other part of the British Domi-
nions (except the United Kingdom) or in any foreign country
belonging to the Copyright Union would cease to have copy-
right in Canada. They recognized that if Canada pressed
for withdrawal from the Union her request could not well be
refused, but this step would be a matter for much regret,
since it would strike a serious blow at the policy of Inter-
national and Imperial copyright, and would be a retrograde
measure that would condemn Canada to a policy of isolation
and of antagonism to the communities of civilized states
which had become parties to the Treaty of Berne. More-
over, the withdrawal of Canada from the terms of the Act
would seriously affect, for example, Australian authors.
The Committee considered that the Canadian legislation
Was, to some extent, hardly consistent with the assurance
given by Her Majesty’s Government to the Government of
the United States of America. They suggested that the
Canadian Act of 1875 was no longer necessary and might be
withdrawn. The Imperial Act of 1886 gave copyright to
books first published in any part of the Queen’s Dominions,
and the Act of 1875 was no longer, therefore, essential.
' Parl. Pap., C. 7783, pp. 43-56.
