tings, drawings, or photographs
executed and dealt with before the year 1862--to be exact, 29th July of
that year. The duration of the term of copyright in this act of 1862
differs from its predecessors, by being made dependent on the life of
the author, to which life seven years were added. In the Literary
Copyright Act there are two terms--the life of the author and seven
years, or forty-two years, whichever may prove the longer. In taking a
fixed term like forty-two years it is necessary to have something to
start from, and with a literary work it was easy to start from the date
of publication. But pictures are not published. They may pass from the
studio to the wall of the purchaser without being made public in any
way. The difficulty was evidently before the author of this act, and the
artist's term was made his life and seven years after his death without
any alternative. This term applies equally to photographers. Perhaps no
bill which ever passed through parliament ostensibly for the purpose of
benefiting a certain set of people has failed so completely as has this
bill to accomplish its end. It started by proposing to give copyright to
authors of paintings, drawings and photographs, and it would seem that
no difficulty ought to have arisen as to whom such copyright should
rightly belong; but the following clause of the act has introduced
confusion into the question of ownership:--

Provided that when any painting, or drawing, or the negative of any
photograph, shall for the first time after the passing of this act be
sold or disposed of, or shall be made or executed for or on behalf of
any other person for a good or valuable consideration, the person so
selling or disposing of, or making or executing the same, shall not
retain the copyright thereof unless it be expressly reserved to him by
agreement in writing, signed at or before the time of such sale or
disposition, by the vendee or assignee of such painting or drawing, or
such negative of a photograph, or by the person on whose behalf the
same shall be so made or executed; but the copyright shall belong to
the vendee or assignee of such painting or drawing, or such negative
of a photograph, or to the person for or on whose behalf the same
shall have been made or executed; nor shall the vendee or assignee
thereof be entitled to such copyright unless at or before the time of
such sale or disposition an agreement in writing, signed