Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1847-12-01
COPYRIGHT.

A late number of Blackwood contains d
severe article, under the head of . Maya in
America" against the American purloiners
of the editors literary property; viz: those
who take the liberty on this side of the wa
ter to republish, entire, Blackwood's Maya
zine, without saying to him or his Edinburgh
publisher, by your leave, sir,'' and with
out making the slightest offering, in the
shape Of quid pro Quo, to the owner of
the British copyright There does seem
TO be something wrong about this; and we
have long thought there ought TO be RENE
dy, such as wise international copyright
law would furnish. We are aware that
there are many and somewhat plausible OBJ
ections TO law of this kind. Those urged
by Henry Clay, i'll his report upon the sub
ject some years since in Congress, are fire.
quently referred to as being conclusive
against the policy of such an enactment.
But the objections stated are not satisfactory
to our mind. The simple principle Of JUS
tice involved is decisive of the question with
us; and in our view, the reasons adverse TO
international copyright, have the same APP
plicablllty and equal validity against nation
al copyright. The right Of property in the
productions of a mans brains, is certainly
as sacred as this right in other descriptions
OF property. This principle is recognized,
to certain extent at least, in the laws of
this and other countries for the security and
protection Of home authors. And if il be
dishonest and unjust to publish and derive
profit from the literary productions of home
authors, without paying satisfactory con-
sideration therefor, we cannot see how the
principle is altered in respect to foreign au-
thors, whose works may find their way
here. What is literary theft, and deserving
of penalty, in the one case. cannot be less SO
i'll the other. unless the principle referred to,
unlike others relating In rights of property,
is bounded by the Atlantic or some other
geographical limit.
We are not disposed 10 enter into dis
cussion Of this topic-for had we the requi-
site ability, it would be hard to do the sub
ject justice in a newspaper article of reada-
bic length; but we must be permitted to add
that TO the want of a proper and full recog-
milton of the right of property in copyright,
national and International, is to be traced
the general flimsy and cphemeral character
of the literature Of the times both in Eng
land and this country. Few men devote
themselves in right and worthy spirit, I'M
der existing circumstances, to literature as
profession. In the language of an able
writer upon this subject, in the Democratic
Review
With all, literature is mere elegant &C
cessory 10 other more important avocations,
except in the case of that il-siarred class Of
desultory scribbers for bread, who spin out
their daily thread of meager trash, under the
ever-goading stimulus Of starvation. TO flat
ter the ruling caprice Of public taste, and
catch as she flies the Cynthia Of the min
ute Those men of eminent intelligence
and virtue, who are the natural instructors
and guides Of society in the career of civil
ization, through the press, are deferred BY
this oppressive Encouragement from the
proper discharge of that nobly arduous du-
~, and are compelled to leave it 10 take
care OF itself, in the hands of an inferior or
der of minds, whose iI-directed and desul-
tory efforts probably do much more harm
than good. Or they do occasionally write,
1t is under such disadvantage, trom the pres
sure ofpOverty, and the necessity of address
ing themselves TO the eXigcncy of the hour.
and the popular tastes of the day, without
time to develop and mature what is in them
having no lasting property in their works
to constitute provision for age, and trans
Missile like other property to their chill
dren-that society reaps but a small portion
of the good which it ought to derive from
their labors."