Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
The act in 1790 you mentioned was the first general copyright act.
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In the US maybe.
The
Statute of Anne in the UK beat it by 80 years. The US 1790 act takes several elements from the UK 1710 act, including the 14 year renewable period.
http://www.copyrighthistory.com/anne.html
Quote:
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An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned.
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It also required copies of each book to be deposited in what would nowadays be called Copyright Libraries, and a process whereby members of the public could complain about prices which were too high or unreasonable.