Law Commons^™

A Non-Material Form Of Copyright: The Strange History Of Lecturer’S Copyright, Alex Steel

Alex Steel

This article traces the history of a specific copyright in the spoken word in private lectures, a copyright that did not require the words to be reduced to material form in order to gain protection. In the early to mid 1800’s much money could be made from the giving of lectures, and private lecturers were searching for ways to protect their livelihood. The first case to successfully prevent the unauthorised reprinting of lectures was Abernethy v Hutchinson (1825); generally considered to be the case which formed the basis for the action for breach of confidence. This was a case about …