Home >
Washington signs America's first Copyright Act...
Washington signs America's first Copyright Act...
Item # 704053
July 17, 1790
COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, Boston, July 17, 1790
* Copyright Act of 1790
* 1st federal copyright law
* President George Washington
A nice & very historic issue for display, as fully half of the front page is taken up with an Act of Congress titled: "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books to the Authors & Proprietors of such Copies during the Times therein mentioned."
This is a terrific issue for anyone interested in the publishing industry, as this was America's very first Copyright Act.
This Act is signed in script type by: George Washington, and in block type by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It is headed at the top of the first column by a nice engraving of a heraldic eagle.
Four pages, archival strengthening at the blank spine, very nice condition.
AI notes: The first U.S. Copyright Act, signed into law in 1790, during George Washington’s presidency, established the foundation of federal copyright protection in America under the title “An Act for the Encouragement of Learning.” It granted authors exclusive rights to their works, specifically maps, charts, and books, for an initial term of 14 years, with the option to renew for another 14 years if the author was still living, reflecting the early American belief that intellectual labor deserved limited legal protection to promote learning and innovation. Registration was managed by the Clerk of the U.S. District Court in the author’s district, and only U.S. citizens or residents could secure these rights, leaving foreign works unprotected. The act represented a careful balance between incentivizing creators and ensuring public access to knowledge, establishing principles that would evolve over centuries into the comprehensive copyright system the United States employs today.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
Available Now
$895.00
