Of the Injustice of Counterfeiting Books: From: Essays and Treaties on Moral, Political and various Philosophical Subjects — Kant — John Shaqi
Of the Injustice of Counterfeiting Books: From: Essays and Treaties on Moral, Political and various Philosophical Subjects
Kant · en
The second point of the minor is: that the counterfeiter undertakes
the author's business, not only without any permission from the owner,
but even contrary to the owner's will. Given that he is a
counterfeiter because he invades the province of another, who is
authorized by the author himself to publish the work: the question is,
whether the author can confer the same permission on yet another, and
consent thereto. It is, however, clear that, as then each of them--the
first editor and the person afterwards usurping the publication of the
work (the counterfeiter)--would manage the author's business with one
and the same public, the labour of the one must render that of the
other useless and be ruinous to both; therefore a contract between the
author and an editor that contains the corollary, to allow yet another
besides the editor to venture the publication of the author's work, is
impossible; consequently the author was not entitled to give the
permission to any other, [including by implication a] counterfeiter),
and the counterfeiter should not have even presumed this; by
consequence the counterfeiting of books is a business totally contrary
to the will of the proprietor, and yet undertaken in the proprietor's
name.
From this ground it follows that not the author, but the editor
authorized by him, suffers damages. For as the author has entirely,
without reservation, given up to the editor his right to the managing
of his business with the public, or to dispose of it otherwise, so the
editor is the only proprietor of the transaction of this business, and
the counterfeiter encroaches on the editor, but not on the author.
But as this right of transacting a business, which may be done just as
well by another, is not inalienable (jus personalissimum), assuming
that no corollary exists otherwise in the author's contractual
agreement with the editor, so the editor, as he has been authorized to
have power over the work, also has the right to transfer his right of
publication to another; and as the author must consent to this, he who
undertakes the business from the second hand is not a counterfeiter,
but a rightfully authorized editor, i.e. one to whom the editor, who
was appointed by the author, has transferred his power over the work.
II. Refutation of the Counterfeiter's pretended Right against the
Editor.