Authors and Owners: The Invention of Copyright (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: strange changes, prepublication right, proprietary authorship, House of Lords, Statute of Anne, King's Bench (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

[An] elegant and concise study.
--John Sutherland (London Review of Books )

Serves as a model of how literary theory can breathe new life into a well-known and perhaps even fashionable subject by endowing it with conceptual discipline. (Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 )

An elegant book; stylishly written, pleasingly designed and meticulously documented and researched.
--Jane Dorner (Times Higher Education Supplement )

[Rose's] erudite book is not a practitioner's manual nor an exposition of modern copyright law, but is a valuable contribution to the history and philosophy of copyright.
--William L. Hayhurst (Canadian Business Law Journal )

Product Description

The notion of the author as the creator and therefore the first owner of a work is deeply rooted both in our economic system and in our concept of the individual. But this concept of authorship is modern. Mark Rose traces the formation of copyright in eighteenth-century Britain--and in the process highlights still current issues of intellectual property. Authors and Owners is at once a fascinating look at an important episode in legal history and a significant contribution to literary and cultural history.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (August 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674053095
• ISBN-13: 978-0674053090
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #684,766 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)