International Copyright Act of 1891

The International Copyright Act of 1891 is the first U.S. congressional act that extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. Formally known as the "International Copyright Act of 1891", but more commonly referred to as the "Chace Act" after Sen. Jonathan Chace of Rhode Island.

The International Copyright Act of 1891 was created because many people shunned the idea of literary piracy. It was the first U.S. congressional act that offered copyright protection in the United States to citizens of countries other than the United States. The act extended limited protection to foreign copyright holders from select nations. It was also important for American creators since they were more likely to have international copyright protection in countries that were offered the same protection by the United States. The Act empowered the President to extend copyright to works of foreign nationals.

The act (26 Stat. 1106) was passed on March 3, 1891, by the 51st Congress. The Act went into effect on July 1, 1891. On July 3, 1891, the first foreign work, a play called Saints and Sinners by British author Henry Arthur Jones, was registered under the act.

During the time when the United States was just beginning to develop a literary tradition of its own, this nation refused to protect foreign works. As a result of this, American works were unprotected abroad and domestic publishers had to compete with each other for cheap editions of foreign works. Prior to the International Copyright Act, the first national copyright law was passed in 1790 and provided a copyright protection for 14 years, but only for authors who were citizens or residents of the United States. In order to get copyright protection in the rest of the world American authors were required to gain residency in the country in which they desired copyright protection. For example, Mark Twain obtained residency in Canada to protect his publication of The Prince and the Pauper.

To protect foreign literature in the United States, British authors would have an American citizen serve as a collaborator in the publishing process, and then have the book registered in Washington, D.C. under the collaborator’s name. It was not until the 1830s that the pressure to extend American copyright to foreign authors first developed. Both American and British authors and publishers joined forces and pushed for a bilateral treaty between the United States and England. Famous authors such as Charles Dickens came to the United States to show their support for international copyright. Their biggest problem were American printers that already were protected by a high tariff on imported works, and who had no wish to pay royalties to English writers or publishers.

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