re made perpetual by an act of George III., but
only on condition of the books being printed at their printing presses
and for their own benefit.

3. The first definite statute, or Copyright Act, in England was passed
in 1709. The preamble states that printers, booksellers and other
persons were frequently in the habit of printing, reprinting, and
publishing "books and other writings without the consent of the authors
or proprietors of such books and writings, to their very great
detriment, and too often to the ruin of them and their families." "For
preventing, therefore, such practices for the future, and for the
encouragement of learned men to compose and write useful books, it is
enacted that the author of any book or books already printed, who hath
not transferred to any other the copy or copies of such book or books in
order to print or reprint the same, shall have the sole right and
liberty of printing such book or books for the term of one-and-twenty
years, and that the author of any book or books already composed, and
not printed and published, or that shall hereafter be composed, and his
assignee, or assignees, shall have the sole liberty of printing and
reprinting such book or books for the term of fourteen years, to
commence from the day of first publishing the same, and no longer." The
penalty for offences against the act was declared to be the forfeiture
of the illicit copies to the true proprietor, and the fine of one penny
per sheet, half to the crown, and half to any person suing for the same.
"After the expiration of the said term of fourteen years the sole right
of printing or disposing of copies shall return to the authors thereof,
if they are then living, or their representatives, for another term of
fourteen years." To secure the benefit of the act registration at
Stationers' Hall was necessary. In section 4 was contained the provision
that if any person thought the price of a book "too high and
unreasonable," he might complain to the archbishop of Canterbury, the
lord chancellor, the bishop of London, the chiefs of the three courts at
Westminster, and the vice-chancellors of the two universities in
England, and to the lord president, lord justice general, lord chief
baron of the exchequer, and the rector of the college of Edinburgh in
Scotland, who might fix a reasonable price. Nine copies of each book
were to be provided for the royal library, the libraries of the
universities of Oxford and Cambri