Series 82994

District Court (Third District) Copyright petitions, i 1870-1875, 1879.

0.20 cubic foot and 1 microfilm reel

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Scope and Content

An original application for copyright for theatrical plays, books, maps, drawings, medicine preparations, slip inscriptions, and labels make up these petitions. A description of the play, book, or map, or a sample of the label or slip design are usually included. Copyright ownership guaranteed to the creator the sole right and liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, and vending their works for a term of 28 years from the time of recording the title thereof. At the end of the original 28-year term, the copyright could be extended 14 years through application for a second term. These petitions document the legal process of securing intellectual property rights in the territorial third judicial district.
In accordance with an act of Congress entitled "An Act to amend the several acts respecting copy rights" (February 3, 1831), a printed copy of the material to be copyrighted was to be deposited in the clerk's office of the district court of the district in which the author orproprietor resides. The exact language of the petition was specified by the statute. Responsibility for "all acts and duties required by law touching copyrights" was transferred from the district courts to the Library of Congress in 1870 ("Second general revision of the copyright law," July 8, 1870). Despite repeal of the 1831 law in July 1870, copyright petitions citing the earlier statute continued to be filed in the Third District Court clerk's office off and on until 1879. The majority of these applications (18 of 21) fall into that category. Copyright petitions were not assigned a case number nor entered into the CASE INDEX, series 3243. Consequently it is not known how many copyright petitions were filed with the Third District court clerk, who filed them, which (if any) may be missing.

Research Note

Copyright petitions were not assigned a case number nor entered into the territorial CASE INDEX, series 3243. Consequently it is not known how many copyright petitions were filed, who filed them, which (if any) are missing.
These copyright petitions were located among the territorial CASE FILES (1851-1896), series 9802. The 1831 copyright statute required that within three months of publication, a copy of the work was to be delivered to the court clerk. A "certified list of records of copyright, including the titles so recorded, and the dates of record," was also maintained. These were forwarded periodically to the U.S. Secretary of State. The 1870 law mandated that the Secretary of State and the district court clerks transfer all copyright records to the Librarian of Congress. Surviving records are now in the custody of the U.S. Copyright Office within the Library of Congress.

Arrangement

Chronological by date of filing.

Copyright petitions originally were filed with the case files of the court (series 9802), but not assigned case numbers. The 21 known copyright petitions in this series were separated and placed in a new series. The petitions in the new series are filed chronologically by date filed.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is classified as Public: Title 17 USC Section 705 (b) states that copyright records and indexes shall be open to public inspection..

Use Restrictions

These records are available for reproduction and use.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Custody History

Throughout the territorial period, documents filed with the court were maintained by the clerk appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the judge of the district court. At statehood, the Salt Lake County Clerk was constitutionally designated as ex-officio clerk of Third District Court in and for Salt Lake County. The county/district court clerk maintained custody of the copyright petitions until their transfer to the state archives with the territorial CASE FILES, series 9802, between 1982 and 1985.

Acquisition Information

These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.

Processing Information

All 18 copyright petitions identified by Noel R. Barton (document dated 11 July 1987) have been accounted for. Three additional petitions were located during the processing of the territorial CASE FILES (1851-1896), series 9802.??Since 1983, case files have been listed as permanent records in the records retention policy of the Utah Judicial Council. These records were archivally processed by W. Glen Fairclough, Jr., in 1996.

Other Finding Aids

Other: A list of known petitions has been compiled and is attached to the series inventory. Other: a research guide entitled "Using Court Records" is available for patron use.

Related Material

Case files from the District Court (Third District),
, were found inter-filed among the territorial case files

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