Cambridge Library Collection - History of Printing, Publishing and Libraries: Treatise on the Laws of Literary Property: Comprising the Statutes and Cases Relating to Books, Manuscripts, Lectures, Dramatic and Musical Composi

Originally published in 1828, Robert Maugham's Treatise on the Laws of Literary Property was the first comprehensive examination of copyright laws in Britain. Maugham was writing at a time when the rights of the 'scholar' and the 'artist' were under great debate, themes paralleled in the increasingly 'digital' literary climate of the 21st century. Dedicated to protecting the rights of the author, Maugham branded the introduction of copyright laws, and the debate surrounding the subject, a 'great literary controversy'. His Treatise served to inspire changes in copyright law and provides an accessible, detailed, and thorough discussion of the statutes that governed British authors and publishers in the nineteenth century.

Introductory dissertation; 1. Historical view; 2. The present state of the law; 3. On the principles of the laws; Notes; Table of cases; Index.