Mr. MCGAVIN. What do you say about the case of the gentleman who just preceded you--the lawsuit into which he got himself?
Mr. SCOTT. That has been determined in the courts; it is not for me to say. One judge decided that he was right, and the judge to whom the case was appealed decided that he was wrong.
Mr. MCGAVIN. He seems to have made all the necessary effort to find out whether there was a copyright or not.
Mr. SCOTT. That book, as I happen to know, was an edition of one of the dictionaries, otherwise known as Webster's Dictionary. I think it was perfectly easy for him to find out whether that book was copyrighted in the United States or not. It is not for me to say whether there was any technical omission which endangered the copyright under the language of the present statute; but it does seem to me that in books generally published outside of the realm of the United States, and beyond the jurisdiction of the United States, it should not be necessary for the American publisher, who owns the copyright or who represents the owner of the copyright, to go abroad and undertake to make arrangements of this kind. It might be very difficult for him to make arrangements for the publication of the American copyright notice on foreign editions which he does not print himself and which he does not arrange to control.
Mr. CHANEY. Mr. Chairman, I want to make a suggestion about the form of expression of that clause on page 12. You will notice that in the last line of that second paragraph of section 15 the word "undertaking" is used. I do not know whether people generally understand the use of that word "undertaking" as lawyers in my part of the country do, but I would prefer the word "action" rather than "undertaking," because "undertaking" usually refers to a bond of some kind. "Action," it seems to me, is the proper word.
Mr. PUTNAM. That is page 12, line 18, is it not, Mr. Chaney?
Mr. CHANEY. Yes. The word "undertaking," you know, is used by lawyers generally in the sense of a bond or some agreement to stand good for the default of another, whereas "action" is the name of the suit.
Mr. PUTNAM. This was not intended to apply to a legal action.
Mr. CHANEY. But is it not in the same nature?