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Letter from Noah Webster to Daniel Webster, New Haven (1826)
Source: Morristown National Historic Park, Lloyd W. Smith Archival Collection
Citation:
Letter from Noah Webster to Daniel Webster, New Haven (1826), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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the liberty to invite your attention.
Since the celebrated decision, respecting copy-right,
in the highest British tribunal, it seems to have been
generally admitted that an author has not a permanent
& exclusive right to the publication of his original works, at
common law; & that he must depend wholly on statutes for
his enjoyment of that right. As I firmly believe this decision
to be contrary to all our best established principles of right
& property, & as I have reason to think such a decision would
not now be sanctioned by the authorities of this country,
I sincerely desire that while you are a member of the
House of Representatives in Congress, your talents may be
exerted in placing this species of property, on the same
footing, as all other property, as to exclusive right &
permanence of possession. -
Among all the modes of acquiring property, or exclusive
ownership, the act or operation of creating or making
seems to have the first claim. If any thing can justly give
a man an exclusive right to the occupancy & enjoyment
of a thing, it must be the fact that he has made it.
The right of the farmer & mechanic to the exclusive enjoy-
ment & right of disposal of what they make or produce, is
never questioned. What then can make a difference between
the produce of muscular strength, & the produce of the intel-
lect? If it should be said, that as the purchaser of a bushel
of wheat ha obtained not only the exclusive right to the
use of it for food, but the right to sow it, & make increase
& profit by it, let it be replied, this is true; but if he sows
the wheat, he must sow it on his own ground or soil.
The case is different with respect to the copy of a book which
Source: Morristown National Historic Park, Lloyd W. Smith Archival Collection
Citation:
Letter from Noah Webster to Daniel Webster, New Haven (1826), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | No Commentaries
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
No Translation available.
the liberty to invite your attention.
Since the celebrated decision, respecting copy-right,
in the highest British tribunal, it seems to have been
generally admitted that an author has not a permanent
& exclusive right to the publication of his original works, at
common law; & that he must depend wholly on statutes for
his enjoyment of that right. As I firmly believe this decision
to be contrary to all our best established principles of right
& property, & as I have reason to think such a decision would
not now be sanctioned by the authorities of this country,
I sincerely desire that while you are a member of the
House of Representatives in Congress, your talents may be
exerted in placing this species of property, on the same
footing, as all other property, as to exclusive right &
permanence of possession. -
Among all the modes of acquiring property, or exclusive
ownership, the act or operation of creating or making
seems to have the first claim. If any thing can justly give
a man an exclusive right to the occupancy & enjoyment
of a thing, it must be the fact that he has made it.
The right of the farmer & mechanic to the exclusive enjoy-
ment & right of disposal of what they make or produce, is
never questioned. What then can make a difference between
the produce of muscular strength, & the produce of the intel-
lect? If it should be said, that as the purchaser of a bushel
of wheat ha obtained not only the exclusive right to the
use of it for food, but the right to sow it, & make increase
& profit by it, let it be replied, this is true; but if he sows
the wheat, he must sow it on his own ground or soil.
The case is different with respect to the copy of a book which