2 The History of Copyright
The History of Copyright |
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The arrival of the Printing Press, during the time of the Renaissance, gave rise to the modern author and censorship. In 1662, the Licensing of the Press Act was an act in Parliament of England that took the long title of “An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Books and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses”. 
In 1695, The House Commons refused to renew the controversial Act while the stationers petitioned an argument that authors have an inherent and natural right to the ownership of their works. This argument persuaded Parliament to put forth the Statute of Anne in 1710 and became known as the world’s first copyright law. This law gave book publishers 14 years of legal protection from the copying of their books by others.
From the Statute of Anne:
An act for the encouragement of learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors or purchasers of such copies, during the times therein mentioned.
- I. Whereas printers, booksellers, and other persons have of late frequently taken the liberty of printing, reprinting, and publishing, or causing to be printed, reprinted, and published, books and other writings, without the consent of the authors or proprietors of such books and writings, to their very great detriment, and too often to the ruin of them and their families: for preventing therefore such practices for the future, and for the encouragement of learned men to compose and write useful books; may it please your Majesty, that it may be enacted, and be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same.
Attributions:
8 Anne, c. 19 (1710) The Avalon Project 2008
“Copyright Law”/ Sub unit 2.1 by Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 
Image: Daniel Chodowiecki, German painter and printmakerJohann Bernhard, Frankfurt am Main 1922. (self scanned from book), Public Domain
