LITERARY PROPERTY, property in intellectual productions expressed in a iterary form. In United States law it is defined as the sole liberty of printing, reprinting, publishing, and vending the same. Though there is evidence that ainong the Greeks and the Romans authors earned financial profit through their books, and though the scribes of the Middle Ages, who were almost ex clusively monks, often gained their liveli hood thereby, the right of property in the multiplication of such books is a modern idea. The invention of printing natur ally greatly added to the possible returns inherent in literary work, but the emolu ment that went to the author continued small. The earliest instance on record of an author being safeguarded in his literary property is the case of Peter of Ravenna, whom the Republic of Venice in 1491 endowed with the exclusive right of printing and selling his work "Phce nix." The Ordonnances des Moulins of 'Charles IX. in 1566 and the letters patent of Henry III. in 1576, in France, like wise gave some definition to literary property. In 1512, in Germany, John
Stadium received an imperial privilege for every book he might print, and in Basel, in 1531, prir.ters were prohibited for three years from reprinting the books of one another. To Pynson, who suc ceeded Caxton, was issued in 1518 the first English copyright. From that time on privileges continued to be issued to authors and publishers. The idea of in ternational copyright was first taken up in Germany, particularly in Prussia, which in 1836 gave protection to the writers of every country that recipro cated such protection. In the year fol lowing, Henry Clay put before the United States Congress a petition by British authors in favor of an international copyright act. From that time on efforts to secure international copyright have continued, and laws to give effect to that purpose have been passed in all the countries of Europe and America.