Publisher's Synopsis
From the INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
The following Manual has been prepared at the suggestion of a gentleman long conversant with copy-right property, and the publication of books secured under the act of Congress. It is suggested by him and others, that something of the nature of this manual - something more brief, compact, and simple, and less expensive than the larger works which treat of literary property, and the steps to be pursued under the acts of Congress for the security and enjoyment of copy-rights - is needed for men of business, and perhaps for literary and professional gentlemen who wish to avoid laborious research, to see what the laws of Congress require in taking out or assigning a copy-right, and what the rights of an author are under the principles of the Common Law, or the decisions of the courts of justice under the Statute Law.
The various topics and questions involved in the subject of literary property are briefly stated and discussed in the Manual, and the most important decisions, at home and abroad, are cited and commented upon.
The author has embraced in this Manual the essential laws of Congress on this subject, which of itself is a great convenience to persons who have not ready access to the volumes of the United States Laws.
-THE PUBLISHERS, OCTOBER 8th, 1862.
