New-York tribune., 1875-08-21
COPYRIGHT LAW.
ALETTER FROM MR.. CHARLES READH.
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF COPYRIGHf-PEknS

1
| PUBLICATION IMMORTALITY or sTEALISo ~
| AUTHORS woRK-coMMoN Law EQUITY
! To the Editor OF The Tribune.
| SIR: The Poet Thompson, in 1923, assigned N
copyriQht of "The Seasons to Mllar his heirs aoa
assigns torere. In 1893, Taylor printed m
Seasons and Milar sued him. The case =
handled. turned mainly on whether copynsns m
| printed books was before Queen Annes ststuse!
! This being a mixed question Of law and facS u
opinion of the jury was taken upon docnmensaiy
evidence, the records of Stationery Hall, aud many
ancient assignments of copyright drawn up ~
LAWYERS long before the Statute Of Queen inne, and
Others long after it. The defendant had powerfne
counsel 20 this evidence doubtless was siited, an4
kept within the rules. The jury brought special
verdict, in which are these Words " And the sara
jurors upon their OATH further say that before the
reign Of Her Majesty Queen Anne, II was usual 70
purchase from authors tho perpetual eopyrighs OF
their books and TO assign the same for valuable con-
siderations, and to make the same the subJecs q
family settlements" The jury here were WITHIN
their prov:nce; they not to a matter OF law,
but to a custom. in which, however. lawyers at dif-
ferent epochs had taken part by drawing the legal
assignments. Most of this evidence has meitea
away. but the sworn verdict of twelve unpreudiced
men If the world to the custom before Queen
Annes Statute remains, and, by the las Of England
judicial conjectUes in this matter of fact On thn
basis the judges discussed the ldu, and Lord Mans
field Mr. Justice Wies, and, above all, Wr. Justice
Aston uttered masterpieces of learning, Wis
DOM close reasoning and common sense. tiaS the
instruc of youth in Harvard, Oxford, etc, wo'd
do well 10 rescue from their dusty niche, aud aaake
them teachers of logic law, and morals In niversi-
ties and schools. They built all the rocks fwsf,
On the voice of conscience on Meum and Teum, on
the sanctity Of productive labor; on the title OF
laborer to the fruits of As labor. and the primA
facie absence of a title in B TO the fruits of Az
labor ,rihont ajas oqniudIa Second, On the Hsst0-
sal admission that author alone has right to
print his written words. and the legal consequences
that by exercising this sole right and Great largo
material property under it, he keeps the nght
alive, not dissolvcs it, since comInep law abnon
divestiture of IN admitted right and sf property
created by invitation Of Law.
SPECIAL EVIDENCE.
From these principles they went, thirdly, 10 special
ersncc and traced the history Of the exclusive rig
to print published books showed 1t at a remote
period called by the very technical and legal name
the statute adopted centuries later; proved the
recognition Of this right by name in royal piociama'
tons asl deerees ana Republican ordinances, and
three parliamentary licensing acts under three dif
fereut sovercigns prior Qneen Annes statuie the
entire absence Of dissent ia the old Judges ana their
uniform concurrence when speak they did; their
d,cia IN re- and their o6i,er dodas that The Stat
ute of Charles H. did It give the right COpyrightl
but the action" and OF making title to Copyright'
and of copy being property paramount TO the
Kings grant, aud 50 on-and then they cited
law cases in a series, beginning with Roper agt.
Streater' long before the statute, and continued N
equity long after the statute upon titles created
long before the statue, as Eyre s.f. Walker"
g I'll. eahft writ
| ing dated 6J7, and "Tonson agt. Walkeg," where
the ss. si.nent Alltou's Paradise Lost) dated
1867: Motto agt. Falkner,' ets.; they also cited
the preamble or historical preface, of the statute
itself aud other matters. This reveals the Bacon
ian method, and the true legal method, which
goes by principles resting on large induction, and
| applicable to all citizens, impartlally; and by the
best direct evidence accessible. Against tine wash
erwoman's theory they cited Pope agt. Curl and
"Queeusbury agt. Shebbeare." Judge Yates sc-
! eepted. though rather sulenly, Pope agt. CmP
! aud Queensbury aqt. Shebbeare," and, IN stating
| his own theory, fOrswOre the washerwoman. He
| admitted that, before tie statute if any person
printed an authors imprinted words, without his
express consent to print them, he acts unlawfully,
alhoagh he came by them By legal means, BY loaaor
desolaiioa. The word "deyolution" he used eX.
pressly to keep within "Queensbury agt Shebbeare"
4 Burroughs, 2,379.
Bat from that point he parted company with the
judges and the jury and undertook to prove, out OF
the depths of his inner consciousness, that the ncor-
poreal right which in "Queensbury agt Shebbeare"
prevailed against sixty years lawful possession OF
written copy could not possibly have continued
against we minutes lawful possession OF printed
copy risum eneatis amici.)
BACoN's METHOD NOT FOLLOWED.
THE ANTE -BACOSIAN METHOD; or, How to
fi,a af INN .tfuap pAan
that Napoleon Bonaparte and Copyright in printed
books as common law never could have existed"
Yates-" Goods must he cspable of possession, and
have some visible substance; for without that
nothing is capable of actual possession"
Nothing can be an object of property which has
not corporeai substance" etc. This propo siton
peated about six times
The authors unpubnslsd manuscript is cor.
poreal But after publication by the tine pro-
prietor the mere intellectual ideas in book ara
totally incorporeal and therefore incapable Of any
distinct separate possession they can neither Ce
seized forfeited possessed etc, and this discovery
he repeated often and rung the changes. " Can tho
sentiments themselves apart from the paper, %
taken in execution for a debit In case Of treason,
can they be fsfeitedi If they cannot be seized the
sole right Of publishing them cannot be coutined 70
the author There can be no property where there
can he no Forfeiture etc, etc.
Behold the lunatc in the second degree! His
senses if he had not been of them, revealed that
copyright in printed books existed by Law while hs
spoke and yet that ideas were ncorp0rea and could
not be s.ed nor torJeiitd the sentiments taken
IN execution The nature Of ideas throughout Crea-
tian was the same before and after Queen Anpe3
little trnmpery statuts; vet here Is unatic IN the
second degree, who either Qneen Aane's Parlia-
nent Lad repealed God Almighty In this parteuhAr,
says nothing at AL for the sole polf IN disp1te