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* XITEKAKY PROPERTY. 326 LITERARY PROPERTY. artist. This decision oontaius an unmistakable recognition of immaterial property, not, to be sure, in the sense of a right to exclusive repro- duction, but in the particular application that, while material property depends upon the sub- stance, immaterial property, that is to say prop- erty in ideas, depends upon the form. Apart from the difficulty of preventing the 'appropriation' of their literary productions, the feeling on the part of the Roman writers that authorship was not in itself a worthy vocation, but was to be considered simply as a pastime, un- questionably stood in the way of arrangements under which authors secured compensation for their productions, and doubtless postponed for a considerable period the recognition by the pub- lishers and by the reading public of any property rights in literature. It appears from the letters of Cicero, Horace, Martial, and others, that they made a profit from the sale of their writings. The scanty references which can be traced in the Latin literature of the first century to the relations of the authors with the booksellers ap- pear, as might be expected, almost exclusively in the writings of the society poets. For the cen- turies following the destruction of the Roman Empire, during which literary undertakings were confined almost entirely to the monasteries, the Roman usage, under which authors could dispose of their works to booksellers and the latter could be secure of some commercial control of the prop- erty purchased, was entirely forgotten. Xo re- strictions were placed on the duplication of works of literature. The statutes of the University of Paris, issued in 1223, provided that the book- sellers of the university were to produce dupli- cate copies of all the texts authorized for the use of the university. There is evidence of pay- ments being made to the university scholars whose services were utilized in annotating these texts and in correcting the work of the copyists. The difficulty and expense attending the repro- duction of manuscript was then much greater than in the early days of the Roman Empire. When, therefore, an author desired to secure for his works a wide circulation, he came to regard the reproduction not as a reserved right and source of income, but as a service to himself which he was very ready to facilitate and even to com- pensate. Throu^'hout the Middle Ages, whatever immaterial property in realms of science or of art obtained recognition and protection was held in ownership not by individuals, but by churches, monasteries, or universities. The writers of the Middle Ages were satisfied when they could succeed under any conditions in getting their 'pro- ductions before the public. 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. ,s 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 excluT^ivt right for the printing and sale of his work Phoenix. Xo 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, literarj- ventures 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) tefore 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 tn the mood of the monarch or of the advising ministers. The .status of literarj- property was further recognized and defined by the so-called Ordinances tie Moulins of Charles IX. in 1566, and the letters patent of IIenr' III. in 1.576. 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 been 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 on the part of the printer-publishers in scholarly undertakings. In so far as these editions includ- ed original work (in connection with the revision or annotation of the texts), this work had been paid for by the publishers, who stood, therefore, in the place of the original workers. The Xa- tional .ssembly 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 JIarch 28. 1852. prohibited the production in France of unauthorized editions of foreign works. The law of April 8. 1854. increased the term in behalf of the children to thirty years, while the act of •July 14. 1866. increased the period of protection in behalf of heirs to fifty years after the death of the author. The decree of the 0th of December, 1857. declared the copyright legislation of France applicable to the French colonies named, and subspqiient 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 case the work be first published abroad, copyright in France may be secured subsequently by the de- posit of two copies with the ilinister of the In- terior or with the Secretarv of the Prefecture in