copyright arrangements are tabulated in condensed form in the conspectus of copyright by countries given in the preliminary pages.
International
literary
congresses
At the time of the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878, the French Société des Gens de Lettres issued invitations for an International Literary Congress,
which was held in Paris, under the presidency of Victor Hugo, commencing June 4, 1878. From this came the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale, which held subsequent congresses at London in 1879, at Lisbon in 1880, at Vienna in 1881, at Rome in 1882, at Amsterdam in 1883, at Brussels in 1884, and at Antwerp in 1885, at which the extension of international copyright was discussed and advocated.
Fundamental
proposition
The Congress at Antwerp, in 1885, ratified the following proposition: "The author's right in his work constitutes an inherent right of property. The law does not create, but merely regulates it."
Preliminary
official con-
ference, 1883
Partly at the initiative of this association and at the invitation of the Swiss government, a preliminary conference of official representatives of the several nations was held at Berne in September, 1883, at which the following draft, submitted by the International Literary and Artistic Association, was substantially adopted as the basis for a general convention on the part of civilized nations:
"1. The authors of literary or artistic works published, represented, or executed in one of the contracting States, shall enjoy, upon the sole condition of accomplishing the formalities required by the laws of that State, the same rights for the protection of their works in the other States of the Union, whatever the nationality of the authors may be, as are enjoyed by natives of the States.
"2. The term literary or artistic works comprises
