The law of copyright

This concise historical work presents a poet’s impassioned case for reforming Britain’s copyright law. Framed by an editor’s prefatory note, it introduces the circumstances surrounding a proposed parliamentary bill and a long-overlooked open letter published in 1838. The discussion places literary property within the tensions of the publishing world, where authors, printers, publishers, and Parliament held sharply different interests.

Writing from Rydal Mount, the poet explains his reluctance to enter a public controversy while insisting that authors’ rights deserve a forceful defense. He challenges the objections raised against extending copyright protection and argues that the creator’s claim to his work is more inherent than ordinary forms of property. Clear, reasoned, and rooted in nineteenth-century legal and literary history, the text offers listeners an illuminating glimpse into the struggle to define who owns a work once it has entered the world—and how long that ownership should endure.