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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
50
MAY
4, 1918
CONDUCTED BY B. B. WILSON
FEIST WINS IMPORTANT DECISION UNDER COPYRIGHT LAW
any sum over the amount found due as
royalty in accordance with the terms of
this act not exceeding three times such
amount."
The defendant contended that the publisher
by writing letters to the defendant had ex-
pressly licensed the manufacturer to make the
records and under such circumstances the pub-
lisher could only recover the amount of royal-
ties due and that the court was without power
to impose treble damages. The District Judge
decided in favor of the defendant, but.his decree
has now been reversed by the Circuit Court
of Appeals. The Court of Appeals hold that
the letters written by the plaintiff to the de-
fendant did not in any way change the obliga-
tion imposed on a manufacturer by the statute
to report monthly the number of records manu-
factured and to pay royalties thereon. The
opinion states:
"In our opinion the controversy is gov-
erned by the compulsory license provisions
of the act; and accordingly the decree is
reversed, and the District Court is instructed
to exercise its discretion concerning the
allowance of a reasonable counsel fee and
punitive damages under section 1, subdivi-
sion 6 and (if either or both be allowed)
to fix the amount thereof."
Gilbert & Gilbert, New York, were the attor-
neys for Leo Feist, Inc.
WEBER AND FIELDS IN "BACK AGAIN"
HONOR FLAG FOR LEO FEIST, INC.
Famous Comedians Open in New Musical Play
—Music by Louis A. Hirsch Pleases
First Music Publishing House to Record 60 Per
Cent, of Employes as Bond Subscribers
The Chestnut Street Opera House in Phila-
delphia was the scene Monday night of last
week of the reunion of Weber and Fields in
a new musical play very happily called "Back
Again." It is hardly necessary to say that the
Leo Feist, Inc., was the first music publish-
ing house to win the honor of having presented
to it the Liberty Loan Industrial Flag offered
by the Rainbow Division of the Liberty Loan
Committee to business houses who could list 60
per cent, of their employes as having subscribed
for the Third Liberty Loan. A flag with nine
stars, designating that over 90 per cent, of
the employes of the organization had subscribed
to the Third Liberty Loan, now hangs in the of-
fice of Edgar F. Bitner, general manager of the
company." In some of the more recent reports
from a number of branch offices of the Feist
llrm, it was stated that 100 per cent, of the em-
ployes had subscribed.
Court Rules That Publisher Is Entitled to Treble Damages, Cost of Trial and Counsel Fee in Suit
Against Music Roll Manufacturer Who Failed to Furnish Royalty Reports
The United States Circuit Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit has just decided in the
case of Leo Feist, Inc., against American Music
Koll Co. that a music publisher is entitled to
recover treble damages, costs and counsel fee
by reason of the failure of the manufacturer
of records to furnish monthly sworn reports
of records manufactured and to pay the royal-
ties due by reason thereof pursuant to the pro-
visions of the copyright law.
The American Music Roll Co., of Philadel-
phia, a manufacturer of player-piano records,
neglected to furnish a monthly sworn report
as to the number of records manufactured serv-
ing to reproduce the copyrighted musical com-
positions owned by Leo Feist, Inc., despite
numerous demands made by the publisher. An
action was thereupon commenced by Leo Feist,
Inc., against the American Music Roll Co. in
the United States District Court of Philadel-
phia. On the trial the defendant admitted that
it owed the royalties and offered to pay the
amount due. The publisher took the position
that the manufacturer having unlawfully with-
held payment of royalties could not now dis-
cliarge its obligation and claimed that the court
ought to punish the manufacturer by assessing
damages in three times the amount thus ad-
mitted to be due and awarding costs and coun-
sel fee. This contention was made pursuant
to section 1, subdivision (e) of the copyright
law, being the act of Marcli 4, 1909, which pro-
vides:
"In case of the failure of such manufac-
turer to pay to the copyright proprietor
within thirty days after demand in writing
the full amount of royalties due at said rate
at the date of such deinand, the court may
award taxable costs to the plaintiff and a
reasonable counsel fee and the court may in
its discretion enter judgment thereon for
The
"House
of Good
l',ill<
OLD GLORY GOES MARCHING ON"
"THERE'S A LITTLE BLUE STAR IN THE
WINDOW
And It Means All the World to Me"
'I'M HITTING THE TRAIL TO NORMANDY"
1
'WHEN THE KAISER DOES THE GOOSE STEP
To a (iood Old American Rat;"
" T H E DIRTY DOZEN" (Coon Song Hit)
"WAY DOWN IN MACON, GEORGIA
I'll be Mukin' (ieorgia Mine"
" I ' M A REAL, KIND MAMA. LOOKIN'
FOR A LOVIN' MAN"
"GIDDY GIDDAP! GO ON! GO ON!"
NUMBERS MEET WITH SUCCESS
Louis A. Hirsch
reception accorded the two famous partners was
enthusiastic in the extreme and that a very large
proportion of that enthusiasm was evoked by
the excellencies of the production itself. "Back
Again" is the work of George V. Hobart and
Frank Stammers, and the music is by Louis A.
Hirsch, of "Going Up" and "The Rainbow Girl"
fame. The house was packed to the doors and
divided its enthusiasm between the work of
Weber and Fields, the Dolly Sisters and Mr.
Hirsch's songs. Among the eighteen musical
numbers are at least five that made great im-
pressions according to the newspaper reports.
The songs mentioned most were "I Want a
Sweetheart," "Steal Away," "The Candy Man,"
"Wonderful Girl" and "Upside Down." All the
iv.usic of "Back Again" is published by M. Wit-
mark & Sons, and represents the fourth com-
plete production of which Mr. Hirsch wrote the
music published this season by this house.
" I AIN'T GOT NOBODY MUCH"
"WHEN A BOY SAYS GOOD-BYE TO HIS
MOTHER"
"WHEN SHADOWS FALL"
" A - M E - R - I - C - A MEANS
I Love You My Yankee Land"
"DARLIN"'
"MOONLIGHT BLUES WALTZ"
"HAWAIIAN MOONLIGHT VALSE"
A NEW PHILOSOPHICAL SONG
Jack Glogau has written a new song entitled
"Leave This World a Little Better Than You
Found It." The number is a philosophical bal-
lad and in a number of recent try-outs before
the public it seemed to be greeted with much
more than the usual enthusiasm. It is a song of
an entirely new order in both words and melody
so much so that Chas. K. Harris quickly signed
a contract to publish it when it was offered
to him.
The comparatively new publishing house of
Gilbert & Friedland, organized by the two well-
known writers of that name, is meeting more
than the usual success with two of their num-
bers, "Are You From Heaven?" and "Chimes
of Normandy." One of the proofs of this lies
in the fact that all the talking machine compa-
nies have made records of the songs. The music,
roll companies also have treated the number
favorably and this, together with the fact that
they are popular vaudeville songs, about covers
the field with the added news that the public
is receiving them well.
J
' E
R
O
M
E
H
p
.Sensational Son^ Hit
SONGS
"SWEET LITTLE BUTTERCUP"
"ON THE ROAD TO HOME SWEET
HOME"
"DON'T TRY TO STEAL THE SWEET-
HEART OF A SOLDIER"
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO
HELP THE BOYS?"
"B1NG
BANG
BING
'EM ON
THE
RHINE"
"YOU'RE IN STYLE WHEN YOU'RE
WEARING A SMILE"
"BLUEBIRD"
"SOME SUNDAY MORNING"
"FOR YOU A ROSE"
"SO LONG MOTHER"
"WONDROUS EYES OF ARABY"
"CHEER
UP FATHER
CHEER
UP
MOTHER"
"DERBY DAY IN DIXIE"
"THERE'S A LUMP OF SUGAR DOWN
IN DIXIE"
I JEROME H. REMICK & CO.
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