The printing-press brought with it the possi bility of a compensation for literary labor. Very speedily. however, the unrestricted rivalry of printers brought into existence competing and un authorized editions, which diminished the pros pects of profit, or entailed loss, for the authors, editors. and printers of the original issue, and thus discouraged further undertakings. As there was no general enactment under which the diffi culty could be met, protection for the authors and their representatives was sought through special 'privileges' obtained for separate works as issued. The earliest privilege of the kind was that conceded by the Republic of Venice in Janu ary, 1491, to the jurist Peter of Ravenna, secur ing to him and to the publishers selected by him the exclusive right for the printing and sale of his work Phccnix. No term of years was named in this privilege. The larger number of the earlier Italian enactments in regard to literature were framed not so much with reference to the protection of authors as for the purpose of in ducing printers (acting also as publishers) to undertake certain literary enterprises which were believed to be important to the community. The Republic of Venice, the dukes of Florence, and Leo X. and other popes conceded at different times to certain printers the exclusive privilege of printing for specific terms (rarely exceeding 14 years) editions of classic authors; not so much to secure profits for the printers, but sim ply to encourage, for the benefit of the com munity, literary venture on the part of the editors and printers.
In France, from the reign of Louis XII. to the beginning of the sixteenth century, it be came the usage for the publisher (who was also the printer) before undertaking the publication of a work, to obtain from the King an authoriza tion or letter patent, the term of which varied according to the nature of the work. and also to the mood of the monarch or of the advising ministers. The status of literary property was further recognized and defined by the so-called Ordinances de Moulins of Charles IX. in 1566, and the letters patent of Henry III. in 1576, but the general method under which copyrights were granted and were defended remained practically the same. These royal letters were for the most part in the earlier years. as had la-en the case in Italy, issued for the protection of special edi tions of the classics. They were concerned, there fore. not with the protection of original owner ship. but with the encouragement of investments nn the part of the printer-publishers in scholarly undertakings. In so far as these editions includ ed original work (in connection with the revision nr annotation of the texts). this work had been paid for by the publishers. who stood, therefore, in the place of the original workers. The Na tional Assembly in 1789 abolished all royal priv ileges that were still in force for the protection of works of literature. In July, 1793, the first general copyright act was passed. This gave pro tection to the author during his life and to his heirs and assigns for ten years thereafter. The Imperial act of 1810 extended the term in behalf of the author and his widow for life, and of their children for twenty years. The law of March 28. 1852, prohibited the production in France of unauthorized editions of foreign works. The law of April S. 1854. increased the term in behalf of the children to thirty years. while the act of July 14, Bel, increased the period of protection in behalf of heirs to fifty years after the death of the author. The decree of the 9th of December, 1857. declared the copyright legislation of France applicable to the French colonies named. and subsequent copyright legislation was made appli cable in all the colonies by the decree of October 29, 1887. Later amendments have had to do simply with details. The provisions apply equal ly to foreigners and to Frenchmen. and no re striction is made as to the author's residence at the time the copyright is taken out. In ease the work he first published abroad, copyright in France may be iecured subsequently by the de posit of two copies with the Minister of the In terior or with the Secretary of the Prefecture in the departments. The most important modifica tions of this act have been in connection with the Convention of Bern of 1886-87, and the Conven tion with the United States in 1891, reference to which will he made later.
The earliest German privilege of which there is trustworthy record was issued in 1.501 by the Aulic Council to an association entitled the Sodalitas Rhenana CcItica, for the publication of an edition of the dramas of Hroswitha of Gandersheim, which edition had been prepared for the press by Konrad Celtes. These dramas had been written about 985. This Hroswitha privilege, while later than the early Venice privileges, antedates by two years the first in stance in France, and by seventeen years the first in England. After 1501 there is a ion. series of imperial privileges. issued directly by the Im perial Chancellor in the name of the Emperor. In 1512 an Imperial privilege was issued to the historiographer John Stadius, for all that he should print, the first European privilege which was made to cover more than a single work or which undertook to protect books not yet pub lished. An Imperial patent of I685 uses the
terms (as if in antithesis to each other) 'A privileged book' and 'A book purchased from its author.' Later we find references to 'privileged' and 'non-privileged' books, under the latter heing understood original work., by contemporary writers. Putter (who may be called the father of the modern theory of property in literary pro ductions), writing in 1774, uses for the unprivi leged books the term cigenthihnlich (individual) and for the privileged the term nicht-eigenthiim lich (non-individual). Literary piracy in Ger many began almost at once with the invention of printing. Before manuscript copies had been replaced by printed books, the possession of a manuscript was held to carry with it the right to make copies of the same ad libitum. As a natural consequence of this practice. the posses sion of a'printed copy of a work was for a con siderable time also believed to carry with it the right to make and dispose of further printed copies. and the first upholders of an author's copyright found themselves obliged to contend against the claim of 'ancient precedent.' Early in the history Of the German hook trade. there arose, however, a practice among the leading publishers of respecting each other's undertak ings, irrespective of any privileges or of other legal protection given to the works in question. To this practice there were, of course, numerous exceptions, but it exercised nevertheless, during the period previous to the existence of a national copyright system, an important influence in indicating the tendency of the book trade and that of the reading public to a recognition of and a respect for literary property. It also placed the publishers in a better position to make sat isfactory payments to the authors or editors employed by them. The many important publica tions of Koberger of Nuremberg, whose business activity dated from 1473, were issued entirely without privilege, and with a few exceptions were not interfered with by rival publishers. In 1532 the magistrates of Nuremberg. acting on behalf of the widow of Albert Darer. enjoined Hans from reengraving the TriUMph wagen and selling impressions of his plate. In the same year these magistrates cautioned all the booksellers of Nuremberg against keeping in stock or selling any copies of a certain unauthor ized edition of Diirer's Instruction in Pcrsin car,. Under the order of the magistrates of the city of Basel, issued in itctober, 153t, printers of hooks in that city were enjoined for a period of three years, tinder the penalty of 100 gulden, from reprinting or pirating tile books of one another. Until nearly the end of the eighteenth century. the protection of literary property in Germany depended upon a system of privileges, Imperial or local, but these privilege, were for the most part concerned simply with the property inter ests of the publishers and printers, but a small proportion of them having to do with modern books or with the rights of living authors. privileges covered at the Outset three classes of literary undertakings: first, official publications —a term including in the earlier times the service books of the Church and school text-books. as well as the authorized text of Government edicts, laws, and enactments.; secondly, editions of works taken from the body of the world's literature (litcrarisches Gcmcingut), i.e. the first printing (rordruck) of the same: and third, new books presenting the first consideration of a specific subject, more particularly of a scientific. tech nical, or practical nature. For this last class of undertaking, the recipient of the privilege claimed a control not only of the specific hook which he had produced or of which he was the owner, but the monopoly for the time being. within the district covered by the privilege. of the subject considered in such hook. The writer who had produced a book on Use of Herbs." or the publisher who had employed a writer to prepare such a hook (the subject not having been treated before or at least not recently), would consider himself ao.grieved and would con tend that his rights had been infringed. if within the same territory the publication of another book on herbs should 1w permitted. If the privilege covered an edition of a Latin author. the holder believed himself authorized to prevent the publication, within the territory covered by his privilege, of any other edition of the same author. even though such competing edition might, in respect to the revision of the text and to the editorial work in the notes and com mentaries, be entirely distinct from his own. Local privileges of this kind. which undertook to give to the possessor an exclusive control. during a certain term. for a specified classic text, were. of course, practically identical with the trade monopolies. also characteristic of the age. which were conceded for the sale. within specific terrritories, of articles such as salt or wool.