Donaldson V Beckett - Significance

Significance

Robert Forbes, Bishop of Ross and Caithness, noted in his journal entry of 26 February 1774, that when news of the Lords' decision in Donaldson v. Beckett reached Scotland, there were

great rejoicings in Edinburgh upon victory over literary property; bonfires and illuminations, ordered tho’ by a mob, with drum and 2 fifes.

Later that year, UK booksellers sought to extend their statutory copyright to 14 years through the Booksellers' Bill but, having passed the House of Commons, the bill was defeated in the Lords. In 1834, the United States Supreme Court essentially followed the House of Lords' decision in Donaldson with Wheaton v. Peters, rejecting any perpetual common law copyright in favor of the statutory instrument still in existence today.

Because only a few of the lords spoke and there was confusion over the opinions of the twelve common-law judges, the resulting decision was able to be interpreted as consistent with what some scholars have called "the myth of common-law copyright"—the view that a common law perpetual copyright existed before the Statute of Anne was passed, but was impeached by the statute. Though views similar to this are expressed in some of the common-law judges' advisory opinions, most of the Lords who spoke during the floor debate (such as Lord Camden) clearly believed that no such common-law right had ever existed.