New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-14
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT

70 WRITES To THE TINES on THE sCb'E'i
ENGLISH PUBLISHERS INTERESTED IN iH
pRAFT-rREATY-THE PROVISION IN REGARD ~
r11r THREE MONTHS LInT-wnY THE ENGLISH
PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS ARE OPPOSED ~ mo
OR ANY OTIIER LIMIT OF TIME
,nno, rrtr prGr-t n CORRESPONDENT OF THE ThbCN''
LONDON. Sept 2s.-Mr. Edward Marstoh, POI
nor in the English publishing firm OF sampson
Low. Marston X Co.. which does a cohSiue''''
American business. has printed III me '""eS
letter on Ang.O-American copyright Which ueSei' Is
attention The letter is written. OF course from IAe
npblishers point of view, but II IS at least IN one
resnect which | will notice presently, a very re-
markable exception TO the usual English puOhshers
view. As a whole, il is a valuable contribution to
the discussion 1t has been observed before now
that the publishers on both sides take more active
mart in this discussion than the authors DO.
Authors appear to be restrained partly by feeling
OF delicacv from which the publisher. whose Ousi-
ness is avowelly money making, is free partly oy
n certain timldlty in approaching the commercial
and practical side of the question In tme' now
ever the voice of the author will be heard; hearu'
If | mistake not. speaking IN decisive tones on ID
ternational copyright, and on domestic coPyllRh'
AS we'll with some comments OF a klnd surprising ~
the general public on the nature OF the reialiohs
between himself and the publisher. Mean Whlie' IL
i we'll that the publishers should be heard. 1t Is
and best of all when conflicting interests array
English publishers as a body against American pub
fishers as a body In the hurly-burly each uses
AGAINST the other whatever weapon lies readleSt 10
his hand; which sometimes happens TO be TACT.
Some truths have already been told when oolh
author aud public may probably ponder Ana
Mr.. Edward Mar>tOn now makes fresh contrl'u-
ton to the limited stock Of general knowledge
about the business Of publishing books as wen "S
about the warfare between two sets OF publishers
on copyr ght,
have looked in vain through what has been
lately written on this matter for sufficient account
OF the process by which what is known as the DRAFT
treaty now before the British Government got ltSeh
drafted into the treaty form. 1t expresses rs we
oil know the present views of few powerful pun
fishing firms in Boston New-York and Phiaoe'phla'
We know well enough, mOreove-, how these hrlhN'
once the hittcrcst opponents of an AngIo-AAeIicah
copyrieht became the advocates Of Anglo American
copyright OF a certain sort; how. as Mt. MaIstoh
aaaln reminds u.s. the lucrative monopoly oi pup
fishing ring was rudey interiered with by 'heir own
o3untrymen: and how with en -htened con>cienceS
,bsv now ouoie Lord Mansfield and DR.. johnson in
support of that doctrine OF the saorcauess OF literary
rropertv by violating VIII ch they accumulated
great fortunes at the expense Of the authors whose
works they published. This and much more we
know What we should all like 10 know IN addl-
ton is how the publishers got so far possession OF
the Official mind as to that their views should
L. mt before the British GOvernu ent with the
sanction of the American Government The sub
irct matter of the dratt-treaty affects large num-
llr, Of people and different classes with interests
winch are by no means the same. 1t affects the
Iritlsh author, the British publisher, the American
author, the American publisher. and last but not
,east. the American public How happens II that OF
into nj
treaty, four are comparatively speaking. ignored,
while the fifth which is by 10 means the most I'M
portant has been considered and reflected Ia such
way as to make it paramount 1t Is an interest
ing question. Who will supply the answerf
Mr.. Marston does not but upon the treaty itself
and the peculiar nature Of some OF its provisions he
speaks out with satisfactory plainness. Former
attempts at treaty.making or legislation have iailed
he declares because 1t was papably the interest of
American publishers that they shOald fail. Now
that il IS for the interest of certain American pub
fishers that such attempts should not fail, they
have drafted a treaty "by which English authors
can only gain a copyright by playing into the hands
of American publishers" With every respect 10
American publishers" adds MIR Marstou, have
no hesitation in characterzing their present draft
treaty as one utterly selfish and One'sided.' With
still more emphasis and IN stlll more startling
FERNS he declares that the effect of the treaty a 1t
stands will be TO exclude nine-tenths OF English
authors from ever getting any copyright at al IN
America The American publisher viii naturally
rotor, that it is not his business to look after the
interests of his English rival ard agree that 1t Is
not If Mr. Nar,on took his sraat on the familiar
ground Of the English publisher insisting on his
fight to print and publish IN America for the Eng
lsh author h. letter might have passed unnotced.
Ii would have had 10 more weight than belongs TO
the selfish plea Of an advocate for the interests Of
particular class; 10 more than the plea OF an
American publisher for his side Of the case.
But Nh Marston comes into court with clean
hands and something more than clean hands. lie
has had the good sense to perceive that the effort
10 secure what is rightly called an English pub
fishers copyright a hopeless effort He has salts
fed himself that the American public-let alone
the American publisher who. as have seen, is
more powerful in this part icUlar than the public
Will never consent to a treaty under which the Eng
lish publisher should manufacture the book OF the
English author for the American market, and have
the right of preventing the book from being manu-
featured in America. We ought not to consent 70
such treaty as that. and certainly shall not yet
nothing is more difficult than TO convince the Eng
lish publisher that we shall not Mr.. Marston IS
not only convinced but accepts the necessity good
paturedly. As publisher he wonld like to see.
and frankly SAYS he would like to see, a treaty
which should give him the right TO export and sell
in America an English edition of an English book,
10 the exclusion of an American edition. lie cley-
erly nicknames the other plan plan for the re-
manufacture" Of the book. But he comedies the
point. and his concession is proof both of inte-
gence and fairmindedness, and gives authority to
what he says in opposition to another point OF the
draft-tieaty-that namely which requires an Eng
lish author to reproduce his book in America within
three months from the date of the original publ
ia, &C ~ Arnar On
copyright altogether
THIS limited term lor any similar term is, says
Mr. Marston, of much consequence to authors. and
he gives then publishers view Of it which may
stir the English author to more energy than he has
vet shown in opposition to it, An English author