The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-06-15 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

..

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, Warrwourrrit,
SATURDAY, Jima 111.
Sittings after Trinity Term. kfvre Mr. Jena...
ABBOTT.

. —....
IttSleAL COPYRIGHT.

LATOUR e. WELLER.
Mr. Ctimmtxs oppned the declaration in el is
ease. It stated that the Plaintiff had written a .1
reimposed a Irlok, whiCh, with hi, permission, I. ..1
been first published soil sold by the D.
ant on the Ist of Fehrsiars, 11102. That by
Lain Acts of Parliament, alter the expiration of la
years from the date of such publielition, the pr..
perry in the copyright reverted to the author; a .1
than the Defendant; well knowing the prenu•t+,
on the 24.1 of May, 1816►, and divers otter
days efterwards, knowiryly and sr:m.ol,lly,
out the eon•ent of the Plaintiff, print and 1,111)11,11
a number of the copies of the slid work, to 114
great injury. To this the Defendant li id plead.
Not Guilty.
M►. SCARLET? said; that his Learn. il F.ie
had stated the ineure of this ease. The Pla;iiiiff,
Mr. Latour. was a very eminent n►nsicaf compost .;
who had written several works of on:41111.11.A ineri
Among others was a sonata, entitled .1 I e /;e.
tour de Windsor." The copyright of this work lie
had for a valuable consideration di.poseil of to the
Defendant, who was a mnsic-eeller, at that time 1:1
partnership with Mrs. Bland. It might be now
necessary fur him to state the circum.tances unilrr
which the present action was brought; At au age
when .men of genius and talent were kinnen to
have flourished with a singular degree of luso-
riance—he meant in the reign of Queed Anne
—a question arose us to whom the property in
the copyright of a work of genius, after the swot k
had been published. was properly vested. A C ... -
mittee of the then House of Comm nu s; composed
of men distinguished for their literary tit-quire-
went% among whom were Sir Kitherd Sie. le
and others, were appointed to inVetitigate thia
suhj. ct, slid under their directions the statute upon
which the present action was founded (Bth Anor).
was prepared. By this statute it was pr.,v1(1,(1 th.,c
in the event of in author's disposing of Its cony.
right to a bookseller, after the lapse of fourteen
years it reverted back to him, and became vest. 4
in him for fourteen years longer, and no person
could continue the publication without his txpre,;
license during that period. There were stkli.r-
queist statutes. and especially that of the 41st 4.f
the King, recognising this principle, and inking
some further provisions ; and the charge ag .lust the
present Defendant was, that after the expiration .•t'
14 years, during which he had Mr. Latour', per-
mission to print and sell Le Retour de Windsor, lie
continued to print and sell the said work. to the
prejudice and injury of the author. With regar•l
to the question whether a musical compwation came
properly within the description of works whie•r
were embraced by the statutes in question, that ha I
been sufficiently and ingeniously decided by Lord
Mansfield, in the case of Bale v. Longman, whe.•e
his Lordship had characterised a musical coinpos.-
lion as a sort of short-hand Mode of pulsing utio'd
idea, upon paper, which might be de,cribed by the
use of language at greater length. Upon the
whole, there was no doubt that tl►e Plaintiff w..a
entitled to recover, and the amount of &smog.*
must depend upon the evidence which lie slwultl
adduce.

Mr. Wood, attorney to the Plaintiff, proved a
notice served upon the Defendant to produce the
mauuacript of the work iu queetion. The
script was not produced.
Mr. Thomas Streight, a musical-engraver, prov-
ed that he had engraved for Mess's. Biasi4 an I
Weller previous to July 1804, • ronat• entitled
" Le Retour de Windtor:" he returned the 1111111.1.•
script. lu April 1506, lie re-esigraveil the bathe
work.
Mr. Thomas Turnbull proved that he engravt 41
the title to " Le Ketoar de Windsor," lib 1/Lc:em-
ber 1811.

Mr. Wood, the attorney, was again called, And
eve evidence to • conversation which he hail sitii
Mr. Thwaites, the Defendant'iatturiley, subsequent
to the action brought, from whence he inferred,
that the contract entered into between the NlnifUlt
and Defendant was iu possession of the latter.
Notice had been served to produce this contrac:,
bet it was not forthcoming.
Edward Lolll3= and John Harris proved that they
had bought " Le Retake de Witithur" Irina the
Defendant, on the 7th November, 1817 ; and iv
March last, which was long subsequent to the
period when the Defendant's property to the copy-
rights had ceased.
Robert Taylor proved that he had engraved tie
sonatas in question in March issi.l May 1816. Ti.e
copies sold to the tao lust witnesses geese rinpre.-
mons from his erigasing.
This was the case fur the Plaintiff.

Mr. TOPPING, on the part of the D-fenalso.,
then addressed the Court and Jury, 'email:nig tti-c
the present case resolved itself into two yue•ttuu> ;
the one of law and the otl►er of fact. If tl.e LAMM
Judge was of opinion that the 1111110C.11 mot k w tem s-
lim' came within the piosisiot.s of the 41 t of the
King, then certainly the was entitled in
recover, unless he shouid I.e enabled to pime that
when the sole of the coo tight took piece, it *44
cotnplrtely unconditional, and that ill pond •fat t
the Plaintiff had divpin.ed of to the .14 catty
right winch he pos•tsaied.as tl►e author, a
lining or theteafter to estit. Tills war a
of very considerable importance, because luiu.tw
it had been cuiniiiered aniosig all taiusic-sell. is, a 4
well as hooksrllels, toot toe copyright of a musical
composition did nut, as u► htetaty murk., re tr. n►
the author, but became vcited in the pooh.. -
rally ; and under tht. impression snail t•loaiil:
eou►po,itinna had been re-piloted by Bevel&
seller.. I-le would call hi. *Aiwa. as to toe iiaiiiie
of the coiniact, and rhouii.i tima _IIC __mitalvil
of the Court.

John Mackey, who had been twenty dears in the
employment of Mr. Wriie., was then erdirli. 11 :
spoke of conversations trim!) he had wish ill..
Latour respecting " Le hetwor de 41 ihasnr."
which Mr. Latour said that .11.. Wci:er ousts( in
have made him a present un account hf the
which the wuek had. Upon h nig .d as in
the cuutrect made .vli. Lstuur and Mt.