The New Fascist Law on Copyright. Roma 1926. (Thanks to Ville Oksanen for locating this)
Goal:"This new copyright Act ... brings order out of chaos which has prevailed during so many years ... which frequently give rise to a conflict of interests... Fascism has been the first to realise the import of the basic truth that culture and art can only be efficiently protected when the rights of those who devote their talents to science and art are fully and generously safeguarded." (p. 13)There was a registration system:
"It almost seemed as though the legislators of the liberal regime were anxious to defend it in the interests of a few astute and influential profiteers, in spite of the well-founded complaints of the authors. Indifference to serious problems had reached such a point in Italy that a Revolution was needed in order to place intellectual property rights on a level with property in material goods." (p. 4)What is protected:
"Protection has thus been extended to all forms of intellectual activity and copyright only ends there where protection is afforded by patents, trade-marks, etc. The list of intellectual property drawn up in the first article of the Act is thus the most comprehensive known to any legislation, and the protection granted is among the most complete, for it is not limited to asserting the rights of an author to his work, but it extends this protection, as we shall see, so as to safeguard it from arbitrary reproductions, adaptations, and all possible injuries" (p. 5-6)Duration and exceptions:
"Duration of authors' rights. - The protection of intellectual property rights ought, strictly speaking, to be subject to no limitations, as is the case with other forms of property" (p. 8)Moral rights allow censorship:
"The importance of the matter is evident when we remember that the work of Dante has been translated into dialects by foolish even though sincere admirers of the Poet. To-day such an outrage on immortal beauty could be prevented in Italy..." (p. 10)Enforcement:
"Penalties and guarantees. - In accordance with the strict conception which Fascism has of material and moral order and discipline in the relations between the individual and the State, severe penalties and strict guarantees are provided for the several offences which may be committed against the provisions of the Act." (p. 12-13)
Albert J. Hopkins: Speech in the House of Representatives, May 1, 1890. (Again, thanks to Ville Oksanen for locating this as well)
Goal of copyright:"A copyright is a tax on readers for the purpose of giving a bounty to writers. - Macauley." (p. 1)Is money needed for creation:
"Does anybody believe that Gibbon wrote his immortal work, the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, for the pounds and shillings he could wring from the pockets of the unromantic workmen of England?" (p. 4)Literature builds on the public education:
"The founding of our common-school system, the establishing of academies, and the creation of great universities, the collection of large libraries, and the general diffusion of intelligence among our people have created a condition of affairs for our authors that has placed them on a vantage ground as compared with many other callings and vocations. Their surroundings and associations first inspire and then develop their literary ability, and if they possess any originality or real merit they have a reading constituency in this country who are not slow to recognize their claims." (p. 5)Merit is not dependent on copyright monopoly:
"Literary merit will receive recognition and proper compensation by American readers and the American public quite as quickly as ability in the pulpit, at the bar, or in the medicine and surgery... The time has gone when true merit will go unrewarded in any of the great fields of intellectual effort. The arguments which contend otherwise are based upon a state of facts and a condition of affairs which do not exist in the enlightenment of this country." (p. 6)Duration:
"In how many homes would we find Shakespeare to-day if there had been a copyright which could have been perpetuated upon his works?" (p. 6)Copyright is not a natural right:
"The first copyrights that were granted, as gentlemen who have investigated the subject well understand, were to printers, to protect them in the publication of their books, and not to authors. The granting of a copyright of itself is the best proof in the world that an author has no natural or common-law right in his works after they are published." (p. 7)The problem of monopoly:
"Professor Bryce's work entitled "American Commonwealth" furnishes an instructive objectlesson upon this question. You can not buy this book in any bookstore for less than $6. The edition is poor paper, poor print, and worse binding. Were it not copyrighted a better edition in every respect could be procured by the reader for $3, and at that price the publisher and auhor would make a fair profit... This price has made it a luxury for the average reader to possess a copy of this work." (p. 8)Problem with publisher power:
"All familiar with the manner in which the works of foreign authors would be published under the provisions of this bill know that they would be monopolized by few large publishing firms in this country, and that New York and Boston would control the book trade of America." (p. 11)