The Express.
London, England, 1866-09-13 00:00:00

TOE POLICE COURTS.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

Pietro Faci, an Italian image maker, of No. 10, he
Conduit-passage, was sainmoned before Mr. tt by
Mr. Star , of the Etruria-vale, Staffordshire, for " unlaw-
fully making a pirated copy of the bust of the Right Hon.
W. B. Gladstone, whereof the plaintiff was the registered
proprietor." The proceedings were taken ander the Regis-
tration of Designs Act of 1830.
Mr. George Lewis, who appeared for the prosecution, said
the act provided that any person making • copy of any
registered under the act was liable to a
ty not less than 51. or exceeding 301. The
letinclant was one of • class of itinerant Italians
who exposed in the streets plaster casts, and on
the 31st July he went to the shop of Mr. Hogarth. in
Mount-street, the publisher of a bust of Mr. W. E. Glad-
stone, manufactured, by Mr. Wyon, the sculptor, for Mr.
Stark, of Etruria-vale, Staffordshire, publisher of works of
art, who had registered the bust in question and. was the
prosecutor in the present case. The mode of piracy was
as follows :—A genuine bust was purchased, • oast warn
made from it in plaster, and the copies were sold to the
public at about 3s. each, to the great prejudice of the
standard work, the reputation of the artist, and kiss to
the proprietor. It was the intention of the proesontor
to proceed against all parties offering spurious copies of
his property for sale.
Mr. Edward Wyon, sculptor of 19, Stanhope-street,
made a bust of Mr. W. E. Gladstone for Mr. Stark. The
bust produeed was a whin copy of the clay bust he made.
The plaster cast produced was a copy of the parian bust.
The defendant said he bought the perian bust for 21.
He had also bought • bust of Mr. Cobden.
Mr. Wyon had made a bust of Mr. Cobden for Mr.
Stark, be now produced it.
Mr. Stark, of Etruria-vale, Staffordshire, proved that he
gave an order to Mr. Wyon to make him busts of Mr.
Gladstone and Mr. Cobden. He was the registered
owner of those busts, and produced a certificate to that
effect,

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Mr. Hogarth, printseller, of Mount-street, gave an
account of finding the bust of Mr. Gladstone in the defen-
dant's possession, which has already been published. He
was agent for the sale of the bust, and his reputation
was at stake in consequence of the sale of spurious copies.
Defendant—l bought a parian copy, which was genuine
and when I copied it I altered and enlarged it to thi
extent of six inches. . . .

Mr. G. Lewis—The only enlargement was in the pedestaL
Mr. Tyrwhitt—lt appears to me you think if you buy
a genuine article that you have • right to copy it and
thus to defraud the party in whom the ownership rests.
The law was so once. Copyright did not exist, and any one
could copy anything. But at last it was discovered that •
man ought to have some property in the productions of his
genius and knowledge, and so the copyright law was
passed. I dare say you (defendant) don't think there
is anything in what you are charged with doing bat there is
a great deal. A cast worth two guineas you prodroe for
about Is. 6d. ; inferior, of course. Yon thus introduce a
false taste and affect artist and owner injuriously. But
these are matters I have nothing to do with. I have only to
deal with the question whether a right has been infringed.
Do you keep a shop ?
Defendant—No, I make imagm.
Mr. Tyrwhitt—My duty obliges me to put on the re-
duced penalty of 101., but if you go on in this way I must
put on the full penalty of 301., as it is ion ble that this
piracy of valuable busts can be permitted.
Mr. G. Lewis having applied for a summons against a
person just detected in offering pirated copies of valuable
pictures for sale, the summons was immediately issued,
and a respectable-looking man named John Lawrence was
brought into court.
Mr. George Lewis said the summons in question bad
been taken out under a later act, the 25th Vie., chap. 68.
There was no question es to law and he should at once
proceed to prove the facto. The complainant was Mr.
Camber!, the well-known publisher, whose registered
property in a picture known as the " Light of
the World " had been infringed. The defendant
had been seen an hour ago by • person in Mr.
Ganibart'i establishment offering spurious copies of
valuable paintings for sale. The defendant bad
with him a large box filled with pirated copies of registered
pictures, and he was immediately served with a Nimmons
and taken into custody. He considered that it was neces-
sary there should be some alteration in the law, so as to
reach promptly persons who stole the property of registered
proprietors, and offered it for sale. The defendant was not
the manufacturer of these piracies, he described himself as
• plasterer, living at the east end of the town. The pho-
tograph which he was offering for la. 6d. was a copy of the
" Light of the World," for which 550/. had been given to
the artist, and 350 guineas to the engraver, and for •
genuine copy of which two guineas was the price. It was
impossible to estimate the injury done to artists and
owners by the system adopted by the defendant.
Defendant—Am I the only one who sells these things
about the streets ?
The defendant was asked to give up the name of the
person from whom he bought the spurious copies, but he
declined to do so. Had the defendants stated from
whom he purchased the piracies, the complainant would
not have premed the case against him.
The defendant said he did not know that be was doing
anything wrong. He bought the copies in the regular

way.
Mr. Tyrwhitt said by this statement the defendant made
himself the proprietor of the pirated copies, and not the
mere seller employed by another party. Had he said he
was only the seller at so much per day, the ease would not
have been pressed against him, but as he asserted he was
the owner by purchase he most be fined 101. each per
copy for she eight copies in his possession.
Mr. S. Lewis said if the defendant chore to say who sold
the copies to him, he should ask the court to let the ease
stand over.