Common law copyright is the legal doctrine which contends that copyright is a natural right and creators are therefore entitled to the same protections anyone would be in regard to tangible and real property. The proponents of this doctrine contended that creators had a perpetual right to control the publication of their work (also see perpetual copyright).
The doctrine was repudiated by the courts in the United Kingdom (Donaldson v. Beckett, 1774) and the United States (Wheaton v. Peters, 1834). In both countries, the courts found that copyright is a limited right created by the legislature under statutes and subject to the conditions and terms the legislature sees fit to impose.
Read more about Common Law Copyright: Battle of The Booksellers, Wheaton V. Peters, Other Uses
Famous quotes containing the words common and/or law:
“The course of my long life hath reached at last
In fragile bark o’er a tempestuous sea
The common harbor, where must rendered be
Account for all the actions of the past.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
“The due process of law as we use it, I believe, rests squarely on the liberal idea of conflict and resolution.”
—June L. Trapp (b. 1930)