laws of the United States of America as to bring such works within the terms of the said Act of September 25, 1941 and that accordingly the time within which compliance with such conditions and formalities may take place is extended in respect of such works until the day on which the President of the United States of America shall, in accordance with the said Act, terminate or suspend the said declaration and proclamation, it being understood that the term of copyright in any case is not and cannot be altered or affected by the President's action and that the extension is subject to the proviso of the said Act of September 25, 1941 that no liability shall attach to persons having made lawful use of any work to which the proclamation relates prior to the effective date of that proclamation. The Government of the United States of America accordingly considers the agreement in regard to such extension of time to be in effect as of today's date. Accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. Enclosure: Copy of Proclamation His Excellency The Right Honorable The Viscount HALIFAX, K.G., British Ambassador. CORDELL HULL COPYRIGHT EXTENSION: UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITIAN AND NORTHERN BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF America WHEREAS by the act of Congress approved September 25, 1941, c. 421, 55 Stat. 732, the President is authorized, on the conditions prescribed in that act, to grant an extension of time for the fulfilment of the conditions and formalities prescribed by the copyright laws of the United States of America with respect to works first produced or published outside of the United States of America and subject to copyright or to renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America, including works subject to ad interim copyright, by nationals of countries which accord substantially equal treatment to citizens of the United States of America; and WHEREAS His Britannic Majesty has issued an Order in Council, effective from this day, by the terms of which treatment substantially equal to that authorized by the aforesaid act of September 25, 1941, is accorded, within the British dominions, colonies, protectorates, and mandated territories to 58 Stat. 1129. which that order applies, to literary and artistic works first produced or published in the United States of America; and WHEREAS the aforesaid Order in Council applies to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, British India, British Burma, Southern Rhodesia, Aden Colony, Bahamas, Barbados, Basutoland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Bermuda, British Guiana, British Honduras, British Solomon Islands Protectorate, Ceylon, Cyprus, Falkland Islands and Dependencies, Fiji, Gambia (Colony and Protectorate), Gibraltar, Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, Gold Coast ((a) Colony, (b) Ashanti, (c) Northern Territories), Hong Kong, Jamaica (including Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Kenya (Colony and Protectorate), Leeward Islands (Antigua, Montserrat, St. Christopher and Nevis, Virgin Islands), Malta, Mauritius, Nigeria ((a) Colony, (b) Protectorate), Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland Protectorate, Palestine (excluding Trans-Jordan), St. Helena and Ascension, Seychelles, Sierra Leone (Colony and Protectorate), Somaliland Protectorate, Straits Settlements, Swaziland, Trans-Jordan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda Protectorate, and Windward Islands (Dominica, St. Vincent, Grenada, St. Lucia); and WHEREAS the aforesaid Order in Council is annexed to and is part of an agreement embodied in notes exchanged this day between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and WHEREAS by virtue of a proclamation by the President of the United States of America dated April 9, 1910 (36 Stat. 2685), subjects of Great Britain and her possessions are, and since July 1, 1909, have been, entitled to the benefits of the act of Congress approved March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1075, relating to copyright, other than the benefits of section 1(e) of that act; and WHEREAS by virtue of a proclamation by the President of the United States of America dated January 1, 1915 (38 Stat. 2044), the subjects of Great Britain and the British dominions, colonies, and possessions, with the exception of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Newfoundland, are, and since January 1, 1915, have been, entitled to all the benefits of section 1(e) of the aforesaid act of March 4, 1909; and WHEREAS by virtue of a proclamation by the President of the United States of America dated September 29, 1933 (48 Stat. 1713), citizens of Palestine (excluding Trans-Jordan) are, and since October 1, 1933, have been, entitled to all the benefits of the aforesaid act of March 4, 1909: NOW, THEREFORE, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by the aforesaid act of September 25, 1941, do declare and proclaim: That with respect to (1) works subject to copyright under the laws of the United States of America, including works eligible to ad interim copyright, which were first produced or published outside of the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939, by British nationals of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the British territories to which the aforesaid Order in Council applies, or by citizens of Palestine (excluding Trans-Jordan); and (2) works of the same authors or copyright proprietors which were entitled to renewal of copyright under the laws of the United States of America on or after September 3, 1939, there existed and continues to exist such disruption or suspension of facilities essential to compliance with the conditions and formalities prescribed with respect to such works by the copyright laws of the United States of America as to bring such works within the terms of the aforesaid act of September 25, 1941; and that accordingly the time within which compliance with such conditions and formalities may take place is hereby extended with respect to such works until the day on which the President of the United States of America shall, in accordance with that act, terminate or suspend the present declaration and proclamation. It shall be understood that the term of copyright in any case is not and cannot be altered or affected by this proclamation, and that, as provided by the aforesaid act of September 25, 1941, no liability shall attach under the Copyright Act for lawful uses made or acts done prior to the effective date of this proclamation in connection with the above-described works, or in respect to the continuance for one year subsequent to such date of any business undertaking or enterprise lawfully undertaken prior to such date involving expenditure or contractual obligation in connection with the exploitation, production, reproduction, circulation, or performance of any such work. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this tenth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-four, and of [SEAL] the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-eighth. By the President: CORDELL HULL Secretary of State. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS: ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL Exchange of notes at London February 29 and March 28, 1944; related note dated May 1, 1944 Paragraph 11 of annex superseded June 6, 1944, by agreement of October 23, 1946, and January 23, 1947 2 61 Stat. 2728; Treaties and Other International Acts Series 1602 The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the American Ambassador No. W 3151/150/64 FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.1. 29th February, 1944 YOUR EXCELLENCY, I have the honour to refer to Your Excellency's note No. 3295 of the 19th January concerning the question of civil claims arising in tort against members of the United States forces in the United Kingdom. 2. As you are aware, His Majesty's Government have been reluctant to accept responsibility for these claims since to do so would involve payment by the British public of compensation for damage or injury sustained by the British public through the tortious acts of United Service personnel and might therefore seem undesirable on political grounds. They had therefore hoped that the arrangements previously made with His Majesty's Treasury Solicitor for the settlement of this matter could be maintained. They are, however, glad to note that the United States Government recognise that certain of the claims in question raise political issues and that the proposals now put forward are subject to the reserve that His Majesty's Government are not to be required to assume responsibility for claims which they regard as politically objectionable. In the light of this and recognising that the United States Government regard claims against the personnel of the armed forces of the United States in the line of duty to be part of the normal expenses of the United States forces, His Majesty's Government are prepared to undertake certain responsibilities for the settlement of these claims on behalf of the United States Government as a reciprocal aid service. They assume that the United States Government for their part will be willing to make similar arrangements for the settlement of civil claims of like nature arising against members of His Majesty's Forces in the United States in the course of their duties. His Majesty's Government are, in the circumstances, able to assume these responsibilities only within certain limitations and conditions which are summarised in an Annex attached to this Note. An explanation of the more important of these will be given hereunder. 3. In the first place, His Majesty's Government find it necessary for administrative reasons to distinguish between claims which are now outstanding and claims which may arise in future. Your Excellency will appreciate that the British Claims Commission is already occupied with the settlement and payment of claims brought against members of His Majesty's Forces and that to take over a large accumulation of similar claims against members of the United States Forces would not only seriously interfere with the present work of the Commission but would also delay still further the settlement of claims against members of the United States Forces. Although, therefore, His Majesty's Government desire to render the fullest possible assistance to the United States authorities in this matter they have reluctantly decided that they can assume responsibility for the settlement on behalf of the United States Government of certain classes of claims against personnel of the United States armed forces only if such claims arise out of incidents occurring on or after the 20th March, 1944. These claims will be additional to claims arising from training manoeuvres of the United States Forces and from certain damage resulting from the operation of United States aircraft for which His Majesty's Government have already undertaken such a responsibility. His Majesty's Government are prepared to undertake the payment but not, for the reasons given above, the examination and settlement of certain claims which are now outstanding. Their proposals for the rapid settlement of these outstanding claims are set out in paragraph 12 of this Note. 4. It will be convenient if I first make certain observations about claims arising out of incidents occurring on or after the 20th March 1944. As I have indicated, His Majesty's Government would wish to reserve the right to refuse consideration of any claim where there are in their opinion good political reasons for doing so. Furthermore, His Majesty's Government feel it to be essential that they should have complete discretion and liberty of action in the means adopted for dealing with any claim to which the proposed arrangements would apply. The departments of His Majesty's Government, who would be charged with the settlement of such claims, are now responsible for the settlement of claims brought against members of His Majesty's Forces and it will clearly be necessary for them to settle claims against members of both forces as far as possible upon the same principles, within the same limitations, 308-581-74 43 |