CAP. IX.

be put to the Court of Common Pleas, whether the king had a right to grant the publication of almanacs, as not falling within the scope of the necessity or expediency, the foundation of prerogative copies. It was twice argued in the Court of Common Pleas; and the answer returned by that court to the Court of Exchequer was, that the charter was void, and almanacs were not prerogative copies. The injunction was accordingly dissolved, that usurpation having gone on for a century; and the House of Commons threw out a bill, brought in for the purpose of vesting that right in the Stationers' Company."

In consequence of this decision, an Act was passed, which, after reciting, that the power of granting a liberty to print almanacs and other books was theretofore supposed to be an inherent right in the Crown, and that the Crown had, by different charters under the great seal, granted the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, among other things, the privilege of printing almanacs; and that the universities had demised to the Company of Stationers their privilege of vending almanacs and calendars, and had received an annual sum of £1000 and upwards as a consideration for such privilege, and that the sum so received by them had been laid out and expended in promoting different branches of literature and science, to the great increase of religion and learning and the great benefit and advantage of these realms; and that the privilege or right of printing almanacs had been, by a late decision at law, found to have been a common right, over which the Crown had no control and consequently the universities no power to demise the same to any particular person or body of men, whereby the payments so made to them by the Company of Stationers had ceased and been discontinued, enacted that £500 a year should be paid to each of the universities, out of the moneys arising from the duties upon almanacs (a).

Any person may now make the calculations usually published in almanacs, and claim a copyright therein.

(a) 21 Geo. 3, c. 56, s. 10.

A power was given by Act of Parliament to certain CAP. IX. commissioners, to publish a 'Nautical Almanac, or Astro- The Nautical nomical Ephemeris,' and to license some one to print it. Almanac. Any other person printing, publishing, or vending it, subjects himself to a penalty. The 'Nautical Almanac' is now, however, placed under the control of the Lords of the Admiralty, and the penalty is increased to £20, with costs of suit, to be paid and applied to the use of the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich (a).

mar.

The claim to the prerogative right in 'Lilly's Latin As to the Latin gramGrammar' was founded on an allegation that the work had been originally written and composed at the king's expense. Mr. Justice Yates observed in Millar v. Taylor that the expense of printing prerogative books was "in fact no private disbursement of the king, but done at the public charge, and formed part of the expense of government." How, then, could they be his private property, like private property claimed by an author in his own compositions? (b) The claim has long been abandoned.

(a) 9 Geo. 4, c. 66.

(b) See Stationers' Co. v. Partridge, 4 Burr. 2339, 2382, 2402; 10 Mod. 105; Nicol v. Stockdale, 3 Swans. 687.

the univer

sities and

colleges.

CHAPTER X.

UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE COPYRIGHT.

Copyright at UPON the introduction of the art of printing into England by Henry VI. a press was set up at Oxford; and an important dominion over the publication of books was, for many years, very naturally assumed by that learned body. The sway was extended to the sister university, and increased in power by charters and grants conferred upon them by the liberality and bounty of several kings.

Immediately after, and in consequence of, the decision in Donaldson v. Becket (a), the universities hastened to Parliament, and in the same year obtained an Act (b) for enabling the two universities in England, the four universities in Scotland, and the several colleges of Eton, Westminster, and Winchester, to hold in perpetuity their copyright in books given or bequeathed to them for the advancement of useful learning and other purposes of education.

The right exists in all such books as had, before the year 1775, or have since, been given or bequeathed by the authors of the same, or their representatives, to or in trust for those universities, or any college or house of learning within them, or to or in trust for the colleges of Eton, Westminster, and Winchester, or any of them, for the beneficial purpose of education within them or any of them.

The exception in favour of the universities and colleges is to extend only to their own books, so long as they are printed at the college press and for their sole benefit; and any delegation of the right works a forfeiture, and the privilege becomes of no effect.

(a) 4 Burr. 2408.

(b) 15 Geo. 3, c. 53; App. vi.

and sale.

A power is given to the universities to sell or dispose CAP. X. of the copyrights given or bequeathed to them, but if they As to their delegate, grant, lease, or sell the copyright of any book, or registration allow any person to print it, their privilege ceases to exist. The copyright of any work presented to the universities must be registered at Stationers' Hall within two months after any such gift shall come to the knowledge of the officers of the universities.

By an Act passed in the forty-first year of Geo. 3, c. 107 (a) a similar copyright is given to Trinity College, Dublin. And by the 27th section of the 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45 (b) the rights of the respective universities and colleges above enumerated are saved from the operation of the Copyright Act.

(a) App. xii.

(b) App. xxxiii.

L

Dramatic compositions within the

Literary
Copyright

Act.

CHAPTER XI.

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC COPYRIGHT.

DRAMATIC compositions, when in manuscript, are protected like other literary compositions; when printed and published they are books within the meaning of the Literary Copyright Act.

The point whether there could be copyright in a musical composition first came before Lord Mansfield in Bach v. Longman. It was a case sent out of Chancery for the opinion of the Court of King's Bench: "Whether, in a composition for the harpsichord, called a sonata, the original composer had a copyright?" The opinion given, was that the same rules of law apply both to literary and musical compositions. It was said that the words of the Act of Parliament were very extensive: "Books, or other writings," and consequently they were not confined to language and letters only. Music is a science; it may be written, and the mode of conveying the ideas is by signs and marks. If the narrow interpretation contended for were to hold (ie., confined to books only), it would apply equally to mathematics, algebra, arithmetic, or hieroglyphics. The case being one sent out of Chancery, the certificate of the judge was: that a musical composition is a writing within the statute of 8 Anne, c. 19, and that of course the plaintiff was entitled to the copyright given to the author by that Act.

Now, by the interpretation clause of the 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45, the word "book," in the construction of the Act, is to mean and include "every volume, part or division of a