United States Code/Title 17/1976-10-18/Chapter 1/Sections 6 to 8

by the United States Government

§ 6—Registration of prints and labels

Commencing July 1, 1940, the Register of Copyrights is charged with the registration of claims to copyright properly presented, in all prints and labels published in connection with the sale or advertisement of articles of merchandise, including all claims to copyright in prints and labels pending in the Patent Office and uncleared at the close of business June 30, 1940. There shall be paid for registering a claim of copyright in any such print or label not a trade-mark $6, which sum shall cover the expense of furnishing a certificate of such registration, under the seal of the Copyright Office, to the claimant of copyright.

§ 7—Copyright on compilations of works in public domain or of copyrighted works; subsisting copyrights not affected

Compilations or abridgements, adaptations, arrangements, dramatizations, translations, or other versions of works in the public domain or of copyrighted works when produced with the consent of the proprietor of the copyright in such works, or works republished with new matter, shall be regarded as new works subject to copyright under the provisions of this title; but the publication of any such new works shall not affect the force or validity of any subsisting copyright upon the matter employed or any part thereof, or be construed to imply an exclusive right to such use of the original works, or to secure or extend copyright in such original works.

§ 8—Copyright not to subsist in works in public domain, or published prior to July 1, 1909, and not already copyrighted, or Government publications; publication by Government of copyrighted material

No copyright shall subsist in the original text of any work which is in the public domain, or in any work which was published in this country or any foreign country prior to July 1, 1909, and has not been already copyrighted in the United States,or in any publication of the United States Government, or any reprint, in whole or in part, thereof, except that the United States Postal Service may secure copyright on behalf of the United States in the whole or any part of the publications authorized by section 405 of title 39.

The publication or republication by the Government, either separately or in a public document, of any material in which copyright is subsisting shall not betaken to cause any abridgment or annulment of the copyright or to authorize any use or appropriation of such copyright material without the consent of the copyright proprietor.

Amendment history

Sections 6 to 8 were added by the Act of July 30, 1947 (c. 391, 61 Stat. 652) which codified the Copyright Act of 1909 (Mar. 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1075). Section 8 was amended by

• the Act of October 31, 1951 (c. 655, 65 Stat. 716), § 16(b);
• Public Law 87-646, (Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 446), § 21;
• Public Law 91-375, (Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 777), § 6(i).

Sections 6 to 8 were repealed by the Copyright Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2541) with effect from January 1, 1978.