Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/339

Rh and MSS. A good account of the Coptic versions may be found in the "Introductions to the New Testament" by Hug and Tregelles. Burckhardt, Bunsen, and Lepsius have furnished many important incidental notices, and the Arabic historian Makrizi has treated of the fortunes of the subject people in his elaborate account of their conquerors, and of Moslem rule in Egypt.  COPYRIGHT, a right conferred by law upon an author or his representatives to the exclusive sale or use of his intellectual productions. Owing probably to the circumstance that the ideas of property originated in an age of violence, the first laws recognizing property referred wholly to material things; and long before intellectual property acquired a pecuniary value, the laws of property in modern society were established, and it became difficult to admit a new object of property among those recognized by the ancient law. Since 1774 the law of England has been regarded as settled against the perpetual right of the author to his work, and the copyrights of authors in that country as well as in the United States are deemed property only by virtue of statute law. The copyright conferred by the statute applies only to works after publication. Before publication an author has the common law right of property in his manuscript, or other unpublished production. In England, by the act of 1842, copyright extends to 42 years, or for the life of the author and seven years thereafter, whichever period shall prove the longer. Protection is extended to books, maps, charts, pamphlets, magazines, engravings, prints, dramatic and musical compositions, paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, models, busts, and designs. Lecturers are also entitled to copyright on their lectures, and musical composers and dramatic authors may secure the sole right of performing their compositions or pieces for the term for which copyrights are granted. In order to secure a copyright an entry is made in the registry books at stationers' hall of the title of the work, the time of its publication, and the name and residence and interest of the proprietor or proprietors. A copy of every book is to be delivered within a month after publication to the British museum, and four copies at stationers' hall, for Oxford and Cambridge universities, the Edinburgh faculty of advocates, and Trinity college, Dublin. The first publication of the book must be within the realm; but such publication may be contemporaneous with publication abroad.—In the United States the authority over this subject is in congress. The act of 1870, which is a substitute for all previous statutes relating to copyright, permits any citizen or resident of the United States who shall be the author, inventor, designer, or proprietor of any book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, engraving, cut, print, or photograph or negative thereof, or of a painting, drawing, chromo, statue, or statuary, and of models and designs intended to be perfected as works of the fine arts, to secure a copyright thereof for 28 years, and gives a right to renewal for himself, his widow or children, for 14 years more; and authors may reserve the right to dramatize and translate their own works. The statute also gives to the author of a dramatic composition the sole liberty of publicly performing or representing it, or causing it to be performed or represented by others. A copy of the title of the book or other article, or a description of the painting, statue, &c., must be sent to the librarian of congress before publication, and two copies of the book, or in case of a painting, &c., a photograph of the same, must be sent to such librarian within ten days after publication. The librarian makes the proper record, receiving 50 cents therefor, and 50 cents for any copy, and there is also a small fee for recording and certifying assignments. A copy of any new edition is also to be sent to the librarian, and a penalty of $25 is imposed for any failure to forward such book, &c. The fact of the entry with the librarian is to be stated in each book or on each other article, and a failure to do this will preclude any action for infringement; while the publication of an entry not actually made subjects the party to a forfeiture of $100. Under previous statutes copyright was secured by depositing a printed copy of the title of the work in the office of the clerk of the district court in the district where the author or proprietor resided. The penalty for infringement of the copyright of a book is a forfeiture of the books printed, imported, &c., and such damage as a court may award; in case of maps, charts, prints, cuts, musical compositions, &c., a forfeiture of the plates, sheets, &c., and $1 for every sheet in possession of the guilty party; and in case of a painting, statue or statuary, $10 for every copy in possession; and in case of a dramatic composition, the damages which may be assessed, which shall not be less than $100 for the first and $50 for every subsequent representation. Authors are by the same law protected against the surreptitious publication of their manuscripts, and may recover damages therefor. In England ornamental and useful designs on articles of manufacture, &c., may be copyrighted; but in the United States designs come within the scope of the law concerning patents. It has been held both in England and America that newspapers are not protected by the copyright laws. Copyright is transferable to heirs and assignees. To entitle an author to copyright, his work must be original, and must not have been published or dedicated to the public prior to the application for copyright. Abandonment to the public before copyright renders the work common property, and defeats copyright.—Prior to 1845 the capacity of a foreign author to acquire, or at least to confer upon a British subject, valid copyright, does not seem to have been denied by the English courts. The 227