For centuries, publishers and printers had the power when it came to books. This locked up ideas and deprived authors of the fruits of their labour.
On 10 April 1710, the Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act, came into force. It recognised a 14-year right in an author to copy, that is, to have the sole liberty of printing and reprinting. After 14 years, a living author’s right was renewed for the same period, otherwise the work went to the commons.
What the Act identifies remains hotly disputed. Is copyright a licence or is it property?
Whoever is “right”, history has favoured ownership. The very expression “intellectual property”, itself a suggestion that a licence is a nonsense, began to be used a century after the Act. Many countries now recognise that copyright is a property in all but name, with the author receiving their lifespan and 70 years.
Anyway, those who rage against the dying of the light don’t have long to wait. Dylan Thomas died in November 1953.
