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Code · STATUTES-AT-LARGE · Vol. 11 STAT. · Aug. 18, 1856 · Chapter CLXIX

Chapter CLXIX. *supplemental to an Act entitled “An Act to amend the several acts respecting Copyright,” approved February third, eighteen hundred and thirty-one.* Aug. 18, 1856. 1831, ch. 10

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Chap. CLXIX.— An Act *supplemental to an Act entitled “An Act to amend the several acts respecting Copyright,” approved February third, eighteen hundred and thirty-one.* Aug. 18, 1856. 1831, ch. 10.Vol. iv. p. 436.*Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That any copyright hereafterTHIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 170, 171. 1856.139granted under the laws of the United States to the author or proprietorCopyright of Dramatic compositions shall extend to prevent unauthorized performances thereof. of any dramatic composition, designed or suited for public representation, shall be deemed and taken to confer upon the said author or proprietor, his heirs or assigns, along with the sole right to print and publish the said composition, the sole right also to act, perform, or represent the same, or cause it to be acted, performed, or represented, on any stage or public place during the whole period for which the copyright is obtained; and any manager, actor, or other person acting, performing, or representing the said composition, without or against the consent of the said author or proprietor, his heirs or assigns, shall be liable for damages to be sued for and recovered by action on the case or other equivalent remedy, with costsPenalty for violation. of suit in any court of the United States, such damages in all cases to be rated and assessed at such sum not less than one hundred dollars for the first, and fifty dollars for every subsequent performance, as to the court having cognizance thereof shall appear to be just: *Provided, nevertheless,* That nothing herein enacted shall impair any right to act, perform, or representProviso as to rights acquired before copyright is taken out a dramatic composition as aforesaid, which right may have been acquired, or shall in future be acquired by any manager, actor, or other person previous to the securing of the copyright for the said composition, or to restrict in any way the right of such author to process in equity in any court of the United States for the better and further enforcement of his rights.
Approved, August 18, 1856. Chapter CLXX: to amend an Act entitled “An Act requiring Foreign Regulations of Commerce to be laid annually before Congress,” approved August sixteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-two, and for other Purposes. 11 Stat. 139 1856-08-18 Chapter CLXX Little, Brown and Company text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Digitization Vendor 2026-01-11 34 2 public
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