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William Wordsworth's letter: "The Law of Copyright" (1838)

copyright Author: William Wordsworth Release date: September 3, 2025 [eBook #76806] Language: English Original publication: London: Thomas J. Wise, 1916 Credits: Charlene Taylor, Quentin Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT BY William Wordsworth LONDON PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 1916 [5] THE Copyright Act referred to by Wordsworth in the following document was presented to the House of Commons for the first time on April 18th, 1838, the day upon which the poet addressed his open letter to Serjeant Talfourd.

This right I hold to be more deeply inherent in that species of property than in any other, though I am aware that many persons, perceiving wherein it differs from acquisitions made in trade and commerce, &c., have contended that the law in respect to literature ought to remain upon the same footing as that which regards the profits of mechanical inventions and chemical discoveries; but that this is an utter fallacy might easily be proved. From the considerations above stated I decline to petition, as suggested, and content myself, in the silence of others better entitled to speak, with this public declaration of my judgment, so that at least, my dear Sir, you may not be liable to be treated as a volunteer intruding without wish or sanction openly expressed by any one of the class whose rights and interests you have so much to your honour stepped forward to maintain. Here this letter shall close, its purpose being answered, for no general arguments from me, and no statement of facts belonging to my own case, and which have come to my knowledge with respect to my illustrious friends Coleridge, Scott, Southey, and others, would avail to produce conviction where that has not been effected by your unrivalled speech made upon your first introduction of the Bill into the [10]House of Commons, and by reasonings which have lately been set forth with great ability by writers in the public journals, who were more at liberty to enter into details than you could be while treating the subject before Parliament.

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