Chapter XV: Section II: Publication

Publication divests the author or proprietor of an unpublished work of his common law rights therein. After publication his right to protection depends solely upon the statute. Publication must be looked at from two points of view--divestitive, _i. e._ as taking away the author's common law right; and investitive, _i. e._ as clothing him with the statutory right.

=Divestitive Publication.=--If a literary work is communicated to the public without restriction, the common law right of the author terminates. This may be done orally or by written or printed manuscript. Either kind of communication, however, may be so limited as not to amount to a publication. A drama or musical work is not published by being publicly performed in a theatre or concert room,[173] since the communication is limited to those who have paid their price for admission, and they are admitted under an implied contract that they will not make any use of what they hear except for their own entertainment and instruction. The same applies to lectures delivered at a University[174] or by a private lecturer.[175] The question as to when a public speaker or preacher publishes the speech or sermon which he delivers is one of extreme difficulty, and depends on the relation of the speaker to his audience.[176] If a literary composition is orally communicated in a place to which all have admission as of right, or to which all are admitted without distinction, and where there are no circumstances from which a contractual relationship between the speaker and his audience can be inferred, the matter so communicated will be abandoned to the public to make what use of it they please. Similarly communication by means of manuscript or print may be limited or unlimited. Private distribution of copies of a book is not publication, because the essence of publication is that the matter must be available to all comers and not only to a class;[177] but the issue of a book to subscribers only would be publication if the subscription list was open to the public at large, and even although the number of copies available was very small. In one case[178] the words of a song were held to be published by being printed on a music-hall programme and distributed in the streets as an advertisement. Exhibition in a public place without distribution of copies would undoubtedly be divestitive publication. Divestitive publication must be with the consent of the proprietor; an unlicensed publication would merely be an infringement of his rights.

=Investitive Publication.=--Publication vests the statutory right of copyright, but a publication which divests the common law right does not necessarily invest the statutory right. An investitive publication is of necessity also a divestitive publication, but not _vice versâ_. The principal distinction is that an investitive publication must be a publication of a book, while a divestitive publication is a publication of the literary composition which is or may be contained in a book. Thus the delivery of a lecture does not vest copyright, although under certain circumstances it may divest the common law right. The book itself must be given to the public, and not merely the contents, in order to secure copyright. It has been suggested that a book will not be published within the meaning of the Copyright Act unless it is also printed. There is certainly some colour for this suggestion. The Act 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45 gives protection to all books which are "published" without any express restriction to printed books. It seems to be assumed, however, throughout the Act that a book when published must necessarily be in print. For instance, section 6 requires "That a printed copy ... shall be delivered at the British Museum." In section 11 again, where provision is made for registration, it is not contemplated that a book in which there is copyright could be in manuscript, although the section makes express provision for the registration of manuscript dramatic and musical pieces, in respect of performing right. There is no authority on this point. In _White_ v. _Geroch_[179] it was said that publication of a musical piece in manuscript vested the statutory copyright; but this was under the statute of Anne, which seems expressly to contemplate publication in manuscript which 5 & 6 Vict. certainly does not. In _Boucicault_ v. _Chatterton_[180] James, L. J., says: "a book is published by being printed and issued to the public;" but this was said only in illustration of the point he was then making, viz. that publication does not necessarily mean the same thing in dealing with copyright as it does in dealing with performing right. On the whole, although the point is extremely doubtful, I am of opinion that printing is not required. Suppose an illuminated hand-made book, fifty copies put on the market, is that to be denied copyright? If it is, the result seems to be that it is unprotected from piracy, since the common law right terminates with unconditional publication. Another point on publication has been raised but not decided, viz.: Must there be a distribution of copies to the public, or will it be sufficient if one or more copies are made accessible to the public; for instance, by deposit of a copy at the British Museum or in other public libraries. Sir James Stephen, in his Digest appended to the "Report of the Copyright Commission, 1878," Art. 4, says: "publication ... means in reference to books, publication for sale;" and James, L. J., as cited above, suggests that there must be an "issuing to the public." On the other hand, the disjunctive use of the terms "published" and "offered for sale " in section 6 of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45 is rather in favour of the view that there can be investitive publication without "offering for sale." Analogy from other branches of the law is unreliable; the exhibition of a picture in a public gallery is publication of the picture,[181] but that is the only way in which a picture can be published. On the whole, I think that if the public have free and unrestricted access to a book there will be publication, even although they may not be able to procure copies for themselves. Something might depend on the rules of a library where the book was deposited.

There is a common practice among publishers to accept as proof of first publication a receipt given on the sale of a single copy of the book. No doubt this is _primâ facie_ proof of publication, but the sale of a single copy does not necessarily imply publication, and it would be open to any one disputing the date of the publication to say that the sale was collusive, and that the book was not at that time, as it must be in order to constitute publication, offered to the public. It would be sufficient publication for the publisher to place copies, or even one copy of the book, in his window for sale. The record in his books should be sufficient evidence of the date if it is disputed.

In a case[182] under the statute of Anne it was held that publication must be by or on behalf of the proprietor, or at least with the view of conferring copyright upon him. The publication in that case was made by an oral assignee to whom the author had purported to convey the exclusive right of publication in the United Kingdom. It was held that the assignee had no copyright because there was no written assignment, and that the author did not acquire copyright because the publication was not on his behalf. The result seems to be that the copyright was lost. If the principle is sound, which is extremely doubtful, it might be applied to the case of first publication by a licensee, unless it could be implied from the contract between the licensor and licensee that the licensee was not acting entirely on his own behalf, but also on behalf of his licensor to secure copyright.

=First Publication within the British Dominions.=--Under the Act of 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45, it was held essential that first publication should be within the United Kingdom;[183] but since the International Act of 1886[184] first publication anywhere within the British dominions will equally secure copyright. If a book is published simultaneously within and without the dominions it is sufficient.[185] Publication a day later than publication abroad would probably lose the copyright; but if on the same day, even although an hour or two later, it would be deemed simultaneous. If a serial story in a periodical is being published simultaneously, say here and in the United States, some parts may have lost their copyright by too hasty publication in America, but this would not deprive the whole serial of copyright if the other parts were "first published" within the British dominions.[186] The date on the title-page of an American book has been held not to be conclusive evidence of the time of publication in the United States.[187] It is quite immaterial where the manuscript is written;[188] and probably equally immaterial where the book is printed. It has been suggested, however, that under 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45, printing within the United Kingdom was necessary, and that now since the "International Copyright Act, 1886," printing within the British dominions is a condition precedent to protection. I do not think the suggestion is of any weight. It is founded on two _obiter dicta_--one of Lord St. Leonards in _Jefferys_ v. _Boosey_,[189] and the other of Bayley, J., in _Clementi_ v. _Walker_.[190]

If a book is first published outside the British dominions there will be no copyright[191] in it except under the International Statutes.[192] Section 19 of 7 & 8 Vict. has been held to apply to publication in all foreign countries, and not only to those with which an international convention is in existence;[193] and it has been further held to apply to the works of a British subject as well as to those of a foreigner.[194]

If a dramatic or musical work is first performed abroad before publication as a book, although that may destroy the performing right within the British dominions, it probably will not affect the author's right to acquire copyright by first publication here in "book" form. It may be said that "first published" in 7 & 8 Vict. c. 12, sec. 19, has been held to include "first performed."[195] That decision, however, dealt only with a question of performing right. In _Boosey_ v. _Davidson_[196] there was first performance abroad, and it was held that copyright was obtained here by first publication; but there was no argument on section 19.