In France perpetual copyright was guaranteed from very early times. The Ordinances of Moulines of 1556, the Declaration of Charles IX. in 1571, and the letters-patent of Henry III. constituted the ancient legislation on the subject, but the sovereign had a right to refuse the guarantee whenever he thought desirable. In 1761 the Council of State continued to a grandson of La Fontaine the privilege that his grandfather possessed, on condition, however, that he should not assign it to a bookseller. The Revolution of 1789 modified this regime, and now copyright is guaranteed to authors and their widows during their lives, to their children, for twenty years; and if they leave no children, to their heirs for ten years only. According to French law, a French subject does not injure his copyright by publishing his work first in a foreign country. No matter where the publication takes place, copyright forthwith accrues in France on his behalf, and on the necessary deposit being effected, its infringement may be proceeded against in a French court. Moreover, a foreigner publishing in France will enjoy the same copyright as a native, and this whether he has previously published in his own or in any other country or not. In Germany and in Austria copyright continues for the authors life and for thirty years after his death. The longest term of copyright is conceded in Italy, where it endures for the life of the author and forty years, with a second term of forty years, during which last any one can publish the work upon paying the royalty to the author or his assigns. The shortest term of copyright exists in Greece, where it endures for but fifteen years from publication. In the United States, by the law of 1831, the term is for twenty-eight years, with the right of renewal to the author, his wife or his children, for fourteen years further. The renewal must be recorded within six months before the expiration of the first term of twenty-eight years. Drone says: "In the United States the authorities have been divided not less than in England regarding the origin and nature of literary property. Indeed, the doctrines there prevalent have ruled our courts. In 1834, in the case of Wheaton _vs._ Peters, the same question came before the Supreme Court, that had been decided by the Court of King's Bench in 1769, and by the House of Lords in 1774--namely, whether copyright in a published work existed by common law; and if so, whether it had been taken away by statute.