18c Perspectives on Authorship, Part II

The document discusses the Statute of Anne, the first copyright law, passed in 1710 in England. It established copyright protection for published works for a renewable term of 14 years for new works and 21 years for existing works. The statute aimed to encourage learning by granting authors and booksellers property rights over copies of their published books. It provided remedies against copyright infringement including forfeiture and fines. The statute also required registration and deposit of copies with certain libraries. It did not include any provisions for censorship.