Chapter XXIII: Section II: The Universities

By an Act of George III.[317] provision is made for the vesting of copyrights in perpetuity in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Scottish Universities and the Colleges of Eton, Westminster, and Winchester. These privileges were obtained in consequence of the decision in _Donaldson_ v. _Beckett_[318] in the House of Lords to the effect that there was no perpetual copyright.

Perpetual Copyright under the Universities' Act attaches to those books which are "bequeathed or otherwise given" to one of the Universities or Colleges. A work such as The Revised Version of the Bible, which was compiled under the direction and at the expense of the two Universities, will probably not have perpetual copyright under the Act since it is neither bequeathed nor given. The same would apply to copyrights purchased by a university or college.

The book in which University privilege is claimed must be registered within two months after the time when the bequest or gift of the copyright comes to the knowledge of the Vice-Chancellor of the University or head of the college, as the case may be.

The remedy against unauthorised printing or importing or knowingly selling, publishing, or exposing for sale any book in which there is University copyright is an action in the High Court for--

(_a_) Forfeiture for destruction.

(_b_) One penny for every sheet found in the custody of the
infringer, half to go to the Crown and half to the informer.

The perpetual privilege granted by the Act only subsists so long as the book is printed only within the respective Universities or Colleges, and for their sole benefit and advantage. This does not debar them from selling the copyright, but if sold it will only subsist for the term granted to authors by the Copyright Act, 1842.

_Quære_ if some of Jowett's works, for instance, were printed in the United States in order to acquire American copyright, whether that would destroy the perpetual copyright by reason of copies being printed outside the University.