This is from http://www.musicjournal.org/01copyright.htm
"1833 -
In the reign of William IV, the Dramatic Copyright Act is enacted. It
is commonly known as "Bulwer Lytton's Act" - after the prolific
writer, poet and dramatist, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who promoted
this seminal statute concerned with stage works. This is effectively
the first British Act to protect performing rights in dramatic works,
though only for a limited number of years. (The performing right is
defined as the "sole right of representation or performance"). After
this Act, many other copyright measures are passed, most of which are
repealed on the passing of the great codifying Act of 1911.
1842 -
In the subsequent Literary Copyright Act of 1842, authors are granted
lifetime property rights in their own work. This Act grants copyright
for 42 years from the date of publication, or the life of the author
plus 7 years, whichever is the greater. But the Act fails to cover
performances of dramatization of non-dramatic works. Unless an author
dramatizes his own literary works, stage productions are not copyright
protected. Further, if a play is published before being produced, the
performing right is usually lost. As a consequence, some authors
employ actors to give a single "copyright performance" - of a stage
dramatization of one of their works (a novel, or narrative poem, for
instance) - "in a place of public entertainment", in order to
establish dramatic copyright."
The British National Archives had this to say:
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/DisplayCatalogueDetails.asp?CATID=59&CATLN=1&FullDetails=True
"An ordinance of the Stationers' Company in 1554, confirmed by royal
charter in 1557, established that all printers had to be members of
the company; and had to present each book to the Wardens and pay the
fee for registration before they might publish.
Registration was finally given a statutory basis by the Copyright Act
of 1842 (5 & 6 Vic c45), which for the first time made registration
voluntary, although it was necessary before an action could be brought
for infringement. Following the 1842 Act, registration at Stationers'
Hall (a condition of protection in all copyright legislation since
1707) was re-enacted.
The Act of 1842 extended the term of copyright to 42 years or seven
years after the death of the author, whichever was the longer, but it
covered only literary and commercial works. It was supplemented in
1862 by the Fine Arts Copyright Act (25 & 26 Vic c68) which provided
for paintings and photographs. Earlier, eighteenth century acts for
engravings and other works remained in force, and the provisions of
the 1833 Dramatic Works Act were extended (by the 1842 Act) to cover
musical compositions.
Throughout the period during which registration was necessary to
establish copyright, there was widespread disregard of the procedure,
partly because of the expense of the fees payable to the Stationers
for registration, but more importantly to evade the obligation to
provide complimentary copies for the copyright libraries.
The situation was further complicated by the development of
international copyright. In 1846 the first copyright treaty was signed
with Prussia after an act permitting such treaties had been passed in
1844 (7 & 8 Vic c12). Various treaties with other countries followed
until the signing of the Berne Convention in 1886, amended, generally
in favour of the author, several times since. International copyright
agreements set down the minimum requirements and provided protection
for foreigners on the same basis as the nationals of the country
concerned. In Britain this meant that foreign works also had to be
registered at Stationers' Hall."
You might also be interested in this part of the national archives
website, especially section 4:
http://www.catalogue.nationalarchives.gov.uk/Leaflets/ri2152.htm
I hope this helps. |
