The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-11 00:00:00

COPYRIGHT.

TO THE EDITOR OF TEE SUN,
Slit,—As Mr. Sergeant Talfourd has egain c
rorw•ard his Bill on Copyright will you have

ness tgollow sae through the medium of yc'ur witkly.
extended Paper (so friendly last year to authors) to
state what ought to be done to induce that importmit
class of persons to read much and study hard, that t!; ~y
may produce more valuable works than they row do.
1. Copyrights ought to be made perpetual copyright,
like freehold estates.
-__ _ _ .

LI. Authors ought to be a chartered body, end ha-ve
their college or ball like the physicians, surgeons, and
apothecaries, and have precedence of these bodies.
111. That all copyrights should be entered at this col-
lege or ball, instead of Stationers' Hall.
IV.—That there should be a sufficient number
of rooms in this building to contain all the copies of
works that authors (publishing on their own account)
might wish to send for publication ; that eaeh
thor &maid have his own compartment, with
a ready reference to it, that any clerk, or war&
man might, in a fcw moments, see what stock ti•
.ere wa!
on kind.

,
V. That no copywright should be allowed in such
works as have an immoral tendency, nor in such as are
brought u under
fictitious
names,
mes
Rcv. before a name with titles ti'..her
prefixed o.rt
inxed to them, such as
or LL.D., A.. 111., or EF.q.,- aft(l. it. This praetieu:
which, far these forty years, has been so common, is net
only gulling the public, but is v-ery injurious to su,-,1
meritorious authors as have no titles to accompany then.'

namVes.. .
That there should be no copyright in ar.,y work
that has on its title page the nameiiot and title of an exist-
ing person, unless it can be spresvmentthaatnotltilaxtrperstyi is
tplraveatilet.e_h,onriasioni
afetl
yi
that
aTte
c purchasingopyrights ot
anlalmeeltium
ks,
tir
to
os
the
ee
heirs,clead or
should
descendantsuld (ifnotperfe vtiloteu'sulyh_ t To. i
d)
bwe"rseestoaruet
provided such persons can be found.
VIII. That all unclaimed copyrights should be as-
signed to the trustees of the Literary Fund Society for
the purpose of increasing their fund, so as to enable
them to grant annuities to unfortunate authors, or their
families.
IX. That a Magistrate should hose the power of
inflicting a heavy fine on any person who shall -Say,
write in any letter or invoice, that a work
'' out of p:int," or "cannot be had," when 'lle cv:11
knows, or might know on inquiry, that there are many
copies at the publisher's.
X. That s heavy fine should be inflicted on any
priffier who shall print an edition of any work without
having in writing the consent of the author or proptietor
of the copyright, signed by his own hand ; or who,
shall print a greater number of copies than wit are.
stated in the ce,itten order of the author or proprietor.
Xl. That if it can be proved by the publisher's b0r.1,,
(verified on oath) that the works of an author have, fr,l,
five successive years, produced him a clear profit of
fort} shillings a year, such work should qualify him to
vote for a Member of Parliament ; that if they have
produced, for the same time, 3001. a-rear, they should
qualify him to become a Member' himself for a borough
and, it 6001 a-year, a Member for'a county.
.
XII. That all proof-sheets of a work (while going
through the Press) should, on the paynknt of or,`:',
penny for postage, have all the privileges of a News,
pa per..
•An Act of Parliament embracing these twelve
.would raise authors to that rank in life, to which
by their education, study, and talents they aro
so justly entitled; and do more towards improving the
mend state of the country than any other plans the Le_
gidature can deviw.
Let, then, authors and all well-wishers to their
- Co u
try persevere tlll these pointsareob
yours,tainecl.
I am, Sir,
Faithfully
FIAT JUSTITIA.

---
March is a mernbrahle
.month for astronomical
phenomena. bite Sir iiVilliarn Ilersehell diseovi,red
the Georgium Sidus on the 13111,1781. On the afternocn
of Friday the 15th, there will be.an eclipse of
commencing at twenty-three minutes past three, and cw 3.-
ing at four minutes past four. On the 19th, 2,559 *.ical-s
will have elapsed since the first recoided eclipse t-s
moon. On the 28th of this month, 1802, Dr. thheer
discovered the planet Pallas; and on the 29th, 1807, the
same astronomer discovered Vesta.—Aldine Magazine.