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TheTreloar Copyright Bill was a revision of theUnited Statescopyright laws introduced February 13, 1896, in the firstsession of the54th United States Congress asHouse of Representatives (H.R.) 5976[1] byMissouri 9th District RepresentativeWilliam M. Treloar. The bill was then extensively revised, and was later reintroduced as H.R. 8211.[2][3]
The bill incorporated two other pending bills (which were ultimately passed on their own) to create aRegister of Copyrights (called a "commissioner" in the Treloar Bill), and to expand protections for public performance ofcopyrighted works, includingmusic, for the first time. The bill would have also extended the term of copyright by 22 years, from 24 years and a 14-year extension (38 years) to 40 years and a 20-year extension (60 years). The law would have extended themanufacturing clause of the 1891International Copyright Act to include most items excluded in 1891, including music,maps, etc.
The bill was extensively criticized in the press, especially for extending the manufacturing clause, and was strongly opposed by copyright leagues formed by authors and publishers. The bill was the subject of extensive lobbying efforts from both supporters and opponents. Although it didn't make it out of the Committee onPatents, some of its provisions did later pass.