Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that this simple statement on behalf of these bodies carries a very strong prima facie argument in favor of this bill. The greater part of the effort of the authors of this bill has been to provide in that field of copyright which Congress has already bounded and established, and which the existing law creates, a reasonable and orderly regulation; to provide against these conflicts and uncertainties and difficulties which the repeated amendment of the law has brought about.
I think everybody would, further, be glad if there could be such a bill as most men could read with some intelligence; that would not need not merely a lawyer, but a copyright lawyer, to interpret. I think most men would be glad, furthermore, in view of the importance of international copyright, if it were such a bill as an intelligent foreigner could understand and an intelligent foreign lawyer could advise about, and such a bill as that the people who are used to it here would thereby be taught something of the general copyright law and could better understand foreign rules. But at any rate, these organizations whose names I have read to you represent, with some few exceptions, roughly, the whole body of men interested in the actual working of the law. Most of them, I think, except those who are purely authors and creators, like the arts associations, have at some time or other been on each side of a copyright controversy. In their business some of them are owners of copyrights and desire to enforce their copyright as far as possible, and most of them are also desirous at times of using literary or artistic matter which is protected by copyright, and they desire that the law shall be precise, so that they can understand their rights and not unwittingly be guilty of offense.
So, for all these reasons, it seems to me that when they come to you and say, substantially, "This law is satisfactory to us," you may be sure that prima facie there is a law here that is an improvement on what at present exists, and which, on the whole, will give a reasonable and sane regulation of this most important matter. And of course if any of them come to you with special ideas as to improvement, you will hear and pass upon them for what they are worth.