From the above premises arose the question, after the passing of the first statute respecting literary property in 1710, whether by certain of its provisions this perpetual copyright at common law was extinguished for the future. After some less important decisions in the ne gative on motion in the Court of Chancery and elsewhere, the question was argued before the Court of King's Bench, during the term, when Lord Mansfield presided, in 1769. The result was a decision in favour of the common-law right as un altered by the statute, with the disap proval, however, of Mr. Justice Yates. Subsequently, in 1774, the same point was brought under the cousideratiou or the House of Lords, and the decision of the court below was reversed by a ma jority of six judges in eleven, as Lord Mansfield, who adhered to the opinion of the minority, declined to interfere ; it being very unusual, from motives of delicacy, for a peer to support his own judgment on appeal to the House of Lords. It is somewhat remarkable, that although this could hardly be termed a decision, as the judges were in point of fact divided equally, it has since been held so important as a precedent and sus tained in so many subsequent cases, that it must now be considered as settled law that perpetual copyright is put an end to by the statutes.
The universities of Cambridge and Oxford protected themselves from the consequences of this decree in the case of Donaldsons and Beckett, by obtaining from parliament, in 1775. the following year, an act for enabling the two univer sities in England, the four universities in Scotland, and the several colleges of Eton, Westminster, and Winchester, to hold in perpetuity their copyright in books given or bequeathed to the said universities and colleges for the advancement of useful learning and other purposes of education. This protection, sanctioned by penalty and forfeiture, so long as such books are printed at the presses of the universities and colleges respectively, is still enjoyed, unaffected by the general statutes on the subject; and a similar protection is ex tended to the university of Dublin by 41 Geo. III. c. 107.
The chief provisions of the 8 Anne, c. 19, entitled An act for the encourage ment of learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors or purchasers of such copies during the times therein mentioned,' as regards the effecting of that purpose, were, that the authors of books already printed, and those claiming under the authors, should have the sole right and liberty of printing them for a term of twenty-one years and no longer ; and that the authors of books thereafter to be printed, and their assigns, should have the same right for fourteen years and no longer. The last clause of the statute directed that after the expiration of these fourteen years the same right should re turn to the authors, if living, for another fourteen years. The persons infringing these provisions were to be punished by forfeiture of the pirated book to the pro prietor, and a penalty of one penny for each sheet, one-half to go to the crown and the other half to the informer, pro vided always the title to the copy of the book had been duly entered with the Stationers' Company.
The 41 Geo. III. c. 107, which extended the same law to Ireland, gave a further protection to authors and their assigns by action for damages and double costs, and raised the penalty per sheet to three pence, to be divided in the same way.
The 54 Geo. III. c. 156, entitled An act to amend the several acts for the en couragement of learning by securing the copies and copyright of printed books to the authors of such books and their assigns,' enacted, that the author of any book which should be published after the in of the act, and his assigns, should have the sole liberty of printing and re printing such book for the full term of twenty-eight years from the day of publi cation, and, if the author should be living at the end of that period, for the residue of his natural life; while with regard to books at that time already published, of which the authors were then living, and in which copyright had not expired, if the authors should die before the expi ration of fourteen years from publication, their representatives should have the benefit of the second fourteen years; and if the authors should survive till twenty eight years from publication, they them selves should have the benefit for the remainder of their lives ; the rights of all assigns being saved in both cases. The
penalties for the infringement of copy rights were the same as in the former statutes, but with the limitation that all legal proceedings under the act must be commenced within one year.
The act 5 & 6 Viet. c. 45 (Lord Ma hon's Act), entitled An act to amend the law of copyright,' and having for its preamble, " Whereas it is expedient to amend the law relating to copyright, and to afford greater encouragement to the production of literary works of lasting benefit to the world," is the act no's* regulating literary property. It repeals the three before-mentioned acts, and enacts that, in every book published in the life-time of the author, after the passing of the act (1st of July, 1842), the author and his assigns shall have copy right for the term of the author's life, and for seven years after his death, or if these seven years expire before the end of forty two years from the time of publication, then for such period of forty-two years ; while for books previously published, in which copyright still subsisted at the time of the passing of the act, the copy right should be continued for the full term provided in the cases of books there after published, except in cases where the copyright should belong wholly or in part to a person other than the author, " who shall have acquired it for other consideration than that of natural love and affection." In these excepted cases, however, the author, or his personal re presentative, and the proprietor or pro prietors of copyright may agree, before the expiration of the subsisting term of copyright, to accept the benefits of the act: and on a minute of such agreement being entered iu a book of registry directed to be kept at Stationers' Hall, the copyright will be continued, as in other cases, for the author's life and seven years after his death, or for forty-two years from the time of publication, and will be the pro perty of the person or persons specified in the minute. The copyright of a book published after the author's death is to endure for forty-two years from the time of publication, and to belong to the pro prietor of the manuscript from which it is first published, and his assigns. With regard to encyclopmdias, reviews, mar zines, periodical works, or works pub lished in a series of books or parts, or any book in which the publisher or pro jector shall have employed persons to write, on the terms that the copyright shall belong to himself, the copyright shall be in the publisher or projector, after lie has paid for it, in the same manner and for the same term as is given to authors of books, except only in the case of essays, articles, or portions forming part of and first published in reviews, magazines, or other periodical works of a like nature, the right of publishing which separately shall revert to the authors at the end of twenty-eight years after publication, for the remainder of the term given by this act; and during these twenty-eight years the publisher or projector shall not have the right to publish any such essay, ar ticle, or portion separately, without the consent of the author or his assigns.