(3) I. THE LAW, THE MISCHIEF, AND THE REMEDY. The Existing Law.* Meaning of "Copyright."-The term copyright means the sole and exclusive right of printing or in any other way multiplying copies of books, pictures, statues, musical scores, lectures, or any other subject to which the term is applied.† History. The first Copyright Act was the act of Anne (8 Anne, c. 19.), passed in 1709, which applied to "books and writings" alone, and gave to authors of books then existing a copyright for 21 years, and to authors of books to be in future published a copyright for 14 years from publication. Whether any and what copyright existed before this Act is a much-vexed question which has never been authoritatively settled, and probably never will be. The effect of the Act, however, was beyond doubt to substitute a fixed statutory right for an indefinite common law right, whatever that pre-existing right was. So it was decided by the House of Lords in 1774.‡ The preamble of the Act of Anne is noticeable. It recites that, " printers, booksellers, and other persons * See the Digest of Sir J. Fitzjames Stephen, Q.C. (now Mr. Justice Stephen) appended to the Report of the Royal Commission of 1878, hereinafter referred to as 66 Steph. Dig."; Copinger on Copyright, 2nd ed., A.D. 1881; Shortt on Literature and Art, 3rd ed., A.D. 1884; Scrutton on Copyright, 2nd ed., 1890. † See Act of 1842, s. 2. In Donaldson v. Becket, 2 Brown's Parliamentary Cases, 129. 66 "have of late frequently taken the liberty of printing, reprinting, and publishing books and other writings "without the consent of the authors or proprietors of "such books and writings to their very great detriment, and too often to the ruin of themselves and their families," and then proceeds to give the 14 years' copyright, “for preventing such practices for the future, and "for the encouragement of learned men to compose and "write useful books." This shows that the Act was not merely intended to be for the benefit of authors, but for the benefit of the public also, being in fact partly based upon the policy of the first Patent Act, commonly called the "Statute of Monopolies," which, in the reign of James the First, had conferred a 14 years' monopoly upon the true and first inventor of new manufactures within the realm. The interest of the public, moreover, was specially safeguarded by the curious provision, soon afterwards repealed, that the Archbishop of Canterbury, sitting in consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the judges of the land, should have power to settle the prices of books upon complaint, made good, that unreasonable prices were exacted—a provision which is the origin of the existing restricted enactment, by which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council may, after the death of an author, license the republication of books which the proprietor of the copyright refuses to republish. Between 1709 and 1842 the following Acts were passed :-* In 1735, 8 Geo. 2. c. 13., giving copyright in engravings. In 1767, 7 Geo. 3. c. 38., to render the Act of 1735 more effectual. * One or two Acts of small importance are omitted from our list. |