Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, The Near East, South Asia, and Africa, Volume V

611.84A95/4–2450

The Secretary of State to the President

Washington, April 24, 1950.

My Dear Mr. President: I submit herewith a draft of a proposed proclamation¹ extending to Israeli authors and proprietors the benefits that may be accorded, on the basis of reciprocity, under the authority of the Act of Congress approved July 30, 1947, entitled “An act to codify and enact into positive law title 17 of the United States Code, entitled ‘Copyrights’” (61 Stat. 652). This act provides that the benefits therein may be extended to the works of a foreign author or proprietor when the foreign state or nation of which such author or proprietor is a citizen or subject grants, either by treaty, convention, agreement, or law, to citizens of the United States the benefit of copyright protection substantially equal to the protection secured to such foreign author or proprietor under the said act. It is further provided in this act that existence of such reciprocal conditions shall be determined by the President by proclamations made from time to time.

The Department of State is of the view that the assurances given by the Government of Israel satisfy the reciprocal requirements of the Act of Congress of July 30, 1947. These assurances are to the effect that under the provisions of the Israeli Copyright Law all literary and artistic works published in the United States are accorded the same treatment as works published in Israel, including mechanical reproductions of musical compositions, and that citizens of the United States are entitled to obtain copyright for their works in Israel on substantially the same basis as citizens of Israel, including rights similar to those provided by Section 1 (e) of Title 17.

The substance and wording of the proposed proclamation to be issued by you have been approved by the Copyright Office. The text of the proposed proclamation has been agreed to informally by officials of the Israeli Government.

Your proclamation will form an integral part of an arrangement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Israel, consisting of (1) a note from the Israeli Ambassador in Washington to the Secretary of State in which he sets forth the aforementioned assurances; and (2) a reply note from the Secretary of State to the Israeli Ambassador to which there will be attached a copy of your proclamation. As has been customary with respect to the conclusion of such copyright arrangements, it is intended to have the above-described notes exchanged on the same date as the proposed proclamation is issued.²

Faithfully yours,

Dean Acheson

1. Not printed.
2. The texts of the notes exchanged on May 4 by the Secretary of State and the Israeli Ambassador are printed in Department of State Treaties and Other International Agreements (TIAS), vol. 1, 1950, p. 645. The proclamation, issued on May 4 by President Truman, is printed in 64 Stat. (pt. 2) A402.