Book Piracy in 19th-Century Anglophonia

The advent of International Copyright Law

By Marissa Christman

LIS522, Instructor: Dr. Lorna Peterson

Statement of Purpose

ANALYZE… Copyright law chronology UNDERSTAND… nuances of international copyright law

ANALYZE… Anglophone publishing industry topics CONTEXTUALIZE… today’s international Anglophone publishing industry

Content and Method- Setting the scene- Master Timeline- The Timeline Speaks- Analysis- So what?- Reference List

British events will appear in green.American events will appear in red.

Canadian events will appear in blue. Important ideas will appear in purple.

When a timeline event is being explained, it will be emphasized on the timeline. The rest of the

timeline events will appear for your reference but be grayed out to de-emphasize them.

Setting the Scene

1776

1789

1763

1770

Great Britain acquires all Canadian territories

Great Britain claims Australia 1769 The British begin settling New Zealand

British colonies in America declare independence

The French Revolution

Great Britain extends its empire, creating new Anglophone markets for its English-language publishing industry.

There are now two nations and three territories in Anglophonia. The English-language publishing industry is suddenly international. The French revolutionary ideals of liberté, égalité and fraternité elicit widespread discomfort with the regulation of intellectual property.

From this point through much of the 19th century, imperial Great Britain recognizes the U.S. as the “Barbary coast of literature” and its citizens as the “buccaneers of books.” England’s pursuit of international copyright regulations can be traced to the American publishing industry’s growth at its expense.

1800

1876

1800

1842

1886

1838

18911889

Victoria’s 1 & 2 c. 59

Imperial Copyright Act

Berne ConventionCanada’s Copyright Act of 1889Chace Act

Belford piracy of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer in Toronto

1837 International Copyright Movement in the U.S.

1896 U.S. joins International Copyright Union

1867 Parton’s Atlantic Monthly Letters

1900

Mas

s U

.S. p

iracy

of B

ritish

pub

licati

ons

Cana

dian

pira

cy o

f U.S

. pub

licati

ons1847 Foreign Reprints Act

1835 Brits grant foreigners limited copyright

c. 1

800-

1895

c. 1

850-

1891

Canadian Confederation

1814 U.S. piracy of Sir Walter Scott’s novels

1823 Philadelphia firm Carey & Lea pirate Lord Byron’s Don Juan at record speed

Cana

da im

port

s U

.S.-p

irate

d bo

oks

c. 1

800-

1842

Canadian Confederation

19001896

1876

1800

1842

1886

1838

18911889

Victoria’s 1 & 2 c. 59

Imperial Copyright Act

Berne ConventionCanada’s Copyright Act of 1889Chace Act

Belford piracy of Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer in Toronto

1837 International Copyright Movement in the U.S.

U.S. joins International Copyright Union

1867Parton’s Atlantic Monthly Letters

Mas

s U

.S. p

iracy

of B

ritish

pub

licati

ons

1847 Foreign Reprints Act

1835 Brits grant foreigners limited copyright

c. 1

800-

1895

1814 U.S. piracy of Sir Walter Scott’s novels

1823 Philadelphia firm Carey & Lea pirate Lord Byron’s Don Juan at record speed

Cana

dian

pira

cy o

f U.S

. pub

licati

ons

c. 1

850-

1891

Cana

da im

port

s U

.S.-p

irate

d bo

oks

c. 1

800-

1842

American Piracy: The Ascent

Scott, a popular poet, began writing novels in 1814. They were instant bestsellers.

Until this point, U.S. publishers had been too weak to satiate the American appetite for British literature. American book piracy, though a nuisance, failed to be a serious threat.

The unauthorized reproduction of Scott’s novels by American publishers demonstrated, for the first time, the damage they could inflict on British publishers and authors.

American Piracy: The GameA portion of Lord Byron’s Don Juan landed at the firm Carey & Lea.

Within 36 hours, their edition appeared on sales floors. Keep in mind: this is at a time when the composition of print items was done by hand.

This incident typifies American book piracy at this time. The most profitable pirates were both quick (i.e. the first to get an edition on the shelves) and cheap. Americans were willing to sacrifice aesthetics if the publications were inexpensive.

A pirating firm’s ability to undersell legit firms was its primary concern.

Copyrights: Restrict to Let Grow

This minor statute afforded any foreigners, even non-residents, the protection of the Crown if he published first in Britain.

Great Britain’s publishing industry was, by this time, well-established. It had many more legitimate firms than did the United States.

Rather than restricting profit from piracies, the granting to foreigners of copyrights encouraged them to contribute to the growth of the already mature industry.

Copyrights: The root of change

English publisher Frederick Saunders relocated to the U. S. in 1846 with plans to foil the Americans’ mass piracy of his books.

The American firms descended upon him in no time and pirated him in financial ruin. He went public with his woeful tale, and somewhat unintentionally sparked a movement for international copyright in the U.S.

Saunders’ multiple publicity stunts inspired authors and intellectuals to form small advocacy groups, though they were very few.

World’s First International Copyright Law

England’s Queen Victoria enacted the world’s first international copyright law to promote publication and, consequently, increase literacy.

It extended federal protection to all works published in Britain proper, whether British- or alien-authored.

Foreign publications authored by British citizens also enjoyed this protection.

British publishers, well-established by this time, wanted the Crown’s protection of the copyrights they bought from British authors.

British authors sought ownership of their ideas and recognition for promulgating them.

The Imperial Copyright ActThreatened by pirated American imports, the British amended the 1838 act, demanding seizure of unauthorized publications at British borders.

The act curbed the importation of American pirated editions into Britain proper, making them unavailable to Brits. It was the primary authority on copyright in Britain until 1905.

Loopholes in the act made it ineffectual in Britain’s colonies (namely Canada) who continued to choose cheap pirated editions over legitimate British ones.

The Imperial Copyright Act mandated that a copy of all British publications be deposited with the British Museum.

Instead of importing authorized copies from the mother country, Canada bought unauthorized American re-prints of British works. U.S. pirated copies were inexpensive and quickly obtainable; British book prices and freight charges were exorbitant.In 1842, Britain prohibited Canada’s importation of U.S. piracies. Impoverished Canadian colonists could not afford Britain’s high-priced copies so nothing changed.

U.S. Piracies in the Canadian Colony

This act levied a customs duty on American re-prints imported into Canada. This was Britain’s attempt to offset the revenue loss they suffered at the hands of piratical American competition.

Canadian customs agents had no incentive to enforce this duty and consequently, only 1% of the potential returns ever reached Great Britain.

With the passing of this act, Britain officially acknowledged its inability to stop Canada from importing American pirated books.

American biographer James Parton wrote a series of letters to the Boston magazine Atlantic Monthly wherein he enumerated the disadvantages suffered by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe.

He argued that it was time for the U.S. to embrace Europe’s progressive attitude toward intellectual property.

The U.S. had avoided reciprocal copyright agreements with other nations on the grounds that it would cause injury to its relatively new publishing industry. By 1867, however, American publishing had grown into a giant, with New York City at its heart. U.S. publishers, by now less-dependent on piratical revenue, started to reconcile themselves to the cause.

Canada was created through the British North America Act in 1867. Though Canada did not gain complete autonomy, it was now considered its own entity and therefore was not subject to British foreign policy (i.e. Canada adopted international copyright laws 42 years after Britain did).

International Copyright Laws

This was the first international treaty on copyright. Signers agreed to grant unlimited copyright to all foreign authors and foreign publications. England was the only English-speaking signer.

International Copyright Laws

This act, passed by Ottawa but rejected by British parliament, sought to protect the Canadian publishing industry by making American publications common property in Canada.

International Copyright Laws

This was the U.S.’s first and only copyright act in this century. It set near-impossible standards for seeking protection.

“the expanding American book trade became geared to a system of production in which the lack of international copy-right was an essential factor.” eaton, 101

Piracy and industry maturity.