Copyright: Its History and Its LawBowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
History
Copyright: Its History and Its Law
Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers)
Copyright -- History; Copyright -- United States -- History
Meantime, during the Georgian period, there had been much incidental
copyright legislation. The provision in the statute of Anne for the
limitation of prices was repealed by the act of 1739, which also
continued the prohibition of the importation of foreign reprints,
further continued in later acts or customs regulations from time to
time, until these were disposed of by the statute law revision act of
1867. Copyright had been extended to engravings and prints by successive
acts of 1734-5 (8 George II, c. 13), 1766-7 (7 George III, c. 38) and
1777 (17 George III, c. 57); to designs for linen and cotton printing by
acts of 1787, 1789 and 1794; to sculpture by acts of 1798 and 1814 (54
George III, c. 56). A private copyright act of 1734 granted to Samuel
Buckley, a citizen and stationer of London, sole liberty of printing an
improved edition of the histories of Thuanus, and the engravings act of
1767 contained a similar special provision for the widow of Hogarth. In
1814 also, copyright in books was extended to twenty-eight years and the
remainder of life, and the author was relieved from delivering the
eleven library copies then required, except on demand. The university
copyright act of 1775 (15 George III, c. 53), above-mentioned, and the
other acts given with specific citation above, still constitute, in
certain unrepealed provisions, a part of the English law, although
others of their provisions and other laws were repealed by later
copyright acts or by the statute law revision act of 1861 or that of
1867.
{Sidenote: Legislation under William IV}
In the reign of William IV the dramatic copyright act of 1833 (3 William
IV, c. 15) became, and in part remains, the basis of copyright in drama.
The lectures copyright act of 1835 (5 & 6 William IV, c. 65) for the
first time covered that field. In 1836 the prints and engravings
copyright (Ireland) act (6 & 7 William IV, c. 59) extended protection to
those classes in that country, and another copyright act (6 & 7 William
IV, c. 110) reduced the number of library copies required to five. These
laws also remain in force, in unrepealed provisions, as a part of
British copyright law.
{Sidenote: The Victorian act of 1842}
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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