In 1777, 17 Geo. 3. c. 57., to render the Acts of 1735 and 1767 still more effectual.

In 1798, 38 Geo. 3. c. 71., giving copyright in busts and new models (repealed).

In 1801, 41 Geo. 3. c. 107., extending copyright in books for 14 years more, if author still living at the end of the first 14 years (repealed).

In 1814, 54 Geo. 3. c. 56., giving copyright in every kind of sculpture.

In 1814, 54 Geo. 3. c. 156., extending copyright in books to a term of 28 years certain, and the residue of the life of the author (repealed).

In 1833, 3 Will. 4. c. 15., giving author of play sole liberty of representation.

In 1835, 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 65., to prevent the publication of lectures without consent.

In 1838, 1 & 2 Vict. c. 59., the first International Copyright Act (repealed).

It

The preamble of the Act of 1842, 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45. recites that, "it is expedient to amend the law of copyright, "and to afford greater encouragement to the productions "of literary works of lasting benefit to the world." This Act is sometimes called Talfourd's Act, from its being founded on a Bill first introduced in 1837 by Serjeant, afterwards Mr. Justice Talfourd, the author of “Ion.” was in fact piloted through the House of Commons by Lord Mahon, who, as Lord Stanhope, was more than 30 years afterwards appointed chairman of the Copyright Commission, but died before the Commission had held any sittings. The House of Commons debates furnish very instructive reading on the subject. Talfourd had proposed, in 1841, that the copyright term should be the life of the author and 60 years after the death of the author; but though he professed himself willing to accept a term of life and 30 years, his Bill, brilliantly and vigorously opposed by Macaulay, was rejected. Lord Mahon's proposal was for a term of life and 25 years, but Macaulay suggested and carried a term of 42 years or life, whichever should be the

longer, which, on the motion of Sir Robert Peel, was altered in favour of authors to the existing term of forty-two years from publication, or till seven years from the death of the author, whichever shall be the longer.

By this Act also the provisions of the Act of 1833, as to dramatic copyright, were extended to musical compositions, and the term of both dramatic copyright and musical copyright was assimilated to that of copyright in books.

Since 1842 the following Acts have been passed:

In 1844, 7 Vict. c. 12., the principal existing International Copyright Act.

In 1847, 10 & 11 Vict. c. 95., the Foreign Reprints Act, allowing the suspension, by Order in Council, of the prohibition of importation of pirated books into the Colonies.

In 1852, 15 Vict. c. 12., an International Copyright Act, allowing translations of political articles in foreign periodicals to be published here.

In 1862, 25 & 26 Vict. c. 68., for the first time giving copyright in paintings, drawings, and photographs.

In 1875, the Canada Copyright Act, 1875, 38 & 39 Vict. c. 53., to allow the Royal Assent to be given to the Canadian "Copyright Act of 1875."

In 1876, the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, 39 & 40 Vict. c. 36. s. 42, by which there is a prohibition of importation of, and a forfeiture and power of destruction of, "Books wherein the copyright shall be first subsisting, first composed, or written or printed, in the United Kingdom, and printed or reprinted in any other country, as to which the proprietor of such copyright or his agent shall have given to the Commissioners of Customs a notice in writing, duly declared, that such copyright subsists, such notice also stating when such copyright will expire."

In 1882, the Copyright Musical Compositions Act, 45 & 46 Vict. c. 40., to protect the public from vexatious actions for unauthorized performances of musical compositions.

In 1886, the International Copyright Act, 49 & 50 Vict. c. 33., to enable Her Majesty to accede to the Berne convention. In 1888, a second Copyright Musical Compositions Act further to amend the law in the subject matter of the Act of 1882.

Summary.-Under these Acts, the term of copyright varies with the subject-matter of it.

In books, &c., the term is 42 years from publication, or life of the author and 7 years, whichever is the longer.

With regard to magazine, &c. articles, there is the following very special provisions :—

If the publisher or proprietor of any encyclopædia, review, magazine, or periodical work, or work published in parts or series, employs and pays persons to compose any volume, part, essay, article, or portion thereof, on the terms that the copyright therein shall belong to such publisher or proprietor, such publisher or proprietor has upon publication the same rights as if he were the author of the whole work (with the following exceptions) :— 1. After 28 years from the first publication of any essay, article, or portion in any review, magazine, or other periodical work of a like nature [not being an encyclopædia], the right of publishing the same in a separate form reverts to the author for the remainder of the term for which his copyright would have endured if the same had been originally published by him elsewhere.

2. During the said term of 28 years the publisher or proprietor may not publish any such essay, article, or portion, separately or singly, without the consent of the author or his assigns.

The author of any such magazine as aforesaid may, by contract with any such publisher or proprietor, reserve the right of publishing any work, his composition, in a separate form, and if he does so he is entitled to copyright in such composition when so published for the same term as if such publication were the first publication, but without prejudice to the right of the publisher or proprietor to publish the same as part of such periodical work.*

In sculpture, the term of copyright is 14 years from first putting forth the sculptured work.

In paintings, drawings, and photographs, the term is the life of the author and seven years after his death. There is, however, this remarkable and anomalous enactment as to the assignment of copyright in paintings, drawings, and photographs, that if the artist sells them without having the copyright reserved to him by written agreement he

* Steph. Dig., Art. 5.

loses it, but it does not vest in the purchaser unless there is an agreement signed in his favour. If therefore there is no agreement in writing-a very frequent occurrence— the copyright is altogether lost on a sale, though if the work be executed on commission, instead of being sold after being executed, the copyright in the absence of agreement vests in the person for whom it was executed.

In engravings and prints taken by lithography, or other mechanical process, the term is 28 years from the first publication.

In dramatic pieces, the term of copyright is the same as in books, and also includes the sole liberty of representation, or allowing to be represented.

In musical compositions, the term of copyright is the same as in books, and also includes the sole liberty of performance, or allowing to be performed.

In lectures, the term of copyright is 28 years, conditionally on the lecturer having given notice of his intention to lecture to two Justices of the Peace.

"Fair" abridgments may be made by any person without the consent of the author.

Any person may dramatise a novel without the consent of the author, provided only he do not reproduce the exact words of the author.

The extent of newspaper copyright is doubtful, but it is probable that upon registration of the copy sued upon, but not otherwise, the proprietor has copyright in all that the newspaper contains, news and advertisements included.

Defects in the Law of Copyright.

Badness of Form.-It is impossible to exaggerate the badness of the law in point of form. Let this branch of the law be placed on the statute book in whatever form conceivable, it must always present great and special difficulties

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to the draftsman. As it is, the language is bad, the arrangement is bad, and that pitfall of the legislator, incorporation by reference, is of frequent occurrence. This section," says Mr. Justice Stephen of 54 Geo. 3. c. 56. s. 1, relating to copyright in sculpture, "is a miracle of intricacy and verbosity. It also contains an 'of' which may be a misprint, as it seems to make nonsense of several lines. . . "It forms a sentence of 38 lines, the first half of which is repeated in the second half in so intricate a way that "the draftsman appears to have lost himself in the middle "of it." Again, "Part of s. 18 of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45., is bad grammar. The words and paid for' should probably "be 'and should be paid for."" "The law," say the Copyright Commissioners, "is wholly destitute of any sort of arrangement, incomplete, often obscure, and even when "it is intelligible upon long study, it is in many parts so ill-expressed that no one who does not give such study to "it can expect to understand it." There are now eighteen Copyright Acts, and it cannot be said that even the recent statutes dealing with copyright in musical compositions show much improvement in form upon those which preceded them, though the International Copyright Act of 1886 forms a bright exception amongst a mass of generally obscure matter.

Defects of Existing Law in Substance.-Copyright, as we have seen, runs in most cases from the date of publication. Now, not only it is often difficult to ascertain the date of publication, but in the case of an author who publishes many works, great practical inconvenience has resulted from the copyright in different works by the author expiring at different dates. Especially will this inconvenience be great if the works form parts of a series, as happened in the case of the cantos of Childe Harold.

The term of copyright in music not printed and published is doubtful, and may perhaps be perpetual.