Deazley (2008)

From Copyright EVIDENCE
Revision as of 11:30, 10 August 2015 by Victoria (talk | contribs) (Saved using "Save and continue" button in form)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Advertising Architectural Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing Programming and broadcasting Computer programming Computer consultancy Creative, arts and entertainment Cultural education Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities

Film and motion pictures Sound recording and music publishing Photographic activities PR and communication Software publishing Video game publishing Specialised design Television programmes Translation and interpretation

1. Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare 2. Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)? 3. Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors) 4. Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption) 5. Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

A. Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right) B. Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction) C. Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing) D. Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability) E. Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts) F. Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Source Details

Deazley (2008)
Title: Commentary on Milton's Contract 1667
Author(s): Deazley, R.
Year: 2008
Citation: Deazley, R. (2008) ‘Commentary on Milton's Contract 1667', in Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Link(s): Definitive , Open Access
Key Related Studies:
Discipline:
Linked by: Li, MacGarvie and Moser (2018)
About the Data
Data Description: [[Has description of data::"When John Milton (1608-1674) entered into a contract with Samuel Simmons (1640-1687) on 27 April 1667 for the publication of Paradise Lost he did so for an immediate payment of £5, in addition to which, he was to receive £5 when 1300 copies of the first edition had been sold, £5 when 1300 copies of the second edition had been sold, and a final payment of £5 after the sale of 1300 copies of the third edition. Moreover, the contract provided that the print run for each of these first three editions was not to exceed 1500 copies, and also allowed Milton to require an account of sales from Simmons at reasonable intervals. In exchange for the sum of £20, Milton gave to Simmons "All that Booke, Copy, or Manuscript" of the poem together with "the full benefit, profit, and advantage thereof, or w[hic]h shall or may arise thereby"."

This contract is preserved in the British Library, London, and provides documentary evidence of the agreement between Milton and Simmons. The catalogue number for the document is Additional MS 18,861.]]

Data Type: Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:
Data Analysis Methods:
Industry(ies):
Country(ies):
Cross Country Study?: No
Comparative Study?: No
Literature review?:
Government or policy study?:
Time Period(s) of Collection:
  • Not stated.
Funder(s):
  • Arts and Humanities Research Council

Abstract

The contract between the poet John Milton and the stationer Samuel Simmons, concerning the publication of Paradise Lost, is the earliest agreement between an author and a publisher for which there exists documentary evidence. The commentary suggests that, while the terms of the contract do not necessarily reveal anything substantive about how authors in the mid-seventeenth century understood the nature of the rights they had in their manuscript work, it is nevertheless significant. Since the early eighteenth century, Milton, his work, and his contract with Simmons, were all co-opted, in a variety of ways, to service contemporary debates about the status of the author, about author- publisher relations, and about the nature of the relationship between an author and his work within the context of the emerging copyright regime.

Main Results of the Study

Main propositions of the study:

  • The contract is the earliest agreement between an author and a publisher for which there exists documentary evidence, but it wasn't the first such contract ever drafted.
  • Whether the contract can reliably tell us anything about how authors in the mid-seventeenth century understood the nature of the rights they had in their work is open to question.
  • That the author had a property, the manuscript, which he might sell to a stationer, is certainly the case; that the existence of a contract about the same suggests anything as to whether an author considered he had a property right in anything other than the physical manuscript is less obvious.
  • The contract concerning the publication of Paradise Lost provides us with a significant moment in the slow movement towards the realisation of the modern author.
  • The modest figure that Milton and his widow received from Simmons, and the penurious circumstances in which his granddaughter found herself, were used as a weapon with which authors could berate the publishing industry.
  • Their poverty was also co-opted in arguments concerning the author's relationship with his work, the nature of copyright, and the appropriate length of the copyright term.
  • In Areopagitica, Milton advocates the importance of the connection between an author and his work as a matter of attribution, but he nevertheless tethers the published ‘copy' as a commodity to the stationer. In this manner, the real significance of Areopagitica in the history of copyright law lies in the way in which the work was misinterpreted and re-branded as an essay expounding the author's natural proprietary rights.
  • The use of Milton and his work to substantiate claims about the natural proprietary rights of the author, while carrying considerable rhetorical weight, may not accurately reflect Milton's attitudes and thoughts upon the same.
  • To draw upon Milton to warn against the dangers of allowing any individual to determine, on the grounds of their religious or political conviction, whether another's work should be published or not, is arguably a more fitting and appropriate use of the poet's opinions and his work.

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

Since the early eighteenth century Milton's contract with Simmons has been co-opted, in a variety of ways, to service contemporary debates about the status of the author, about author-publisher relations, and about the nature of the relationship between an author and his work within the context of the emerging copyright regime. These claims may not accurately reflect Milton's attitudes and thoughts upon the same.



Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues
Issue Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Green-tick.png
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)
Coverage of Evidence Based Policies
Issue Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Green-tick.png
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Datasets