PRIMARY SOURCES

ON COPYRIGHT

(1450-1900)

Letter from Donaldson to Peters, New York (1828)

Source: Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Robert Donaldson to Richard Peters, Jr., September 25, 1828.

Citation:
Letter from Donaldson to Peters, New York (1828), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org

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Record-ID: us_1828

Permanent link: https://copyrighthistory.org/cam/tools/request/showRecord.php?id=record_us_1828

Full title:
Letter from Robert Donaldson to Richard Peters Jr.

Full title original language:
N/A

Abstract:
A letter from Robert Donaldson - the publisher of the former reporter of the Supreme Court Henry Wheaton - to Richard Peters. In the letter Donaldson inquired whether Peters - at the time the reporter of the Supreme Court - intended to publish his 'Condensed Reports', including reports of Supreme Court decisions complied by previous reporters. The letter threatens the initiation of a copyright infringement lawsuit in such a case. The lawsuit that was subsequently filed resulted in the Supreme Court's decision in Wheaton v. Peters.

Commentary: No commentaries for this record.

Bibliography:
  • McGill, Meredith L. 'The Matter of the Text: Commerce, Print Culture, and the Authority of the State in American Copyright Law.' 9 American Literary History 1, 7-11 (1997).

  • Joyce, Craig. ''A Curious Chapter in the History of Judicature': Wheaton v. Peters and the Rest of the Story (of Copyright in the New Republic).' 42 Hous. L. Rev. 325 (2005).

  • Joyce, Craig. The Story of Wheaton v. Peters. In Intellectual Property Stories, ed. Jane C. Ginsburg and Rochelle Cooper Dreyfuss. New York: Foundation Press, 2006.

  • Abrams, Howard B. 'The Historic Foundation of American Copyright Law: Exploding the Myth of Common Law Copyright.' 29 Wayne L. Rev. 1119 (1983).


Related documents in this database:
1828: Letter from Donaldson to Wheaton
1828: Letter from Peters to Donaldson
1834: Wheaton v. Peters
1834: Wheaton v. Peters Independent Report
1834: Letters from Sumner to Story

Author: Robert Donaldson

Publisher: N/A

Year: 1828

Location: New York

Language: English

Source: Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Robert Donaldson to Richard Peters, Jr., September 25, 1828.

Persons referred to:
Donaldson, Robert
Peters, Richard, Jr.
Wheaton, Henry

Places referred to:
Boston, Massachusetts
New York
Philadelphia

Cases referred to:
N/A

Institutions referred to:
U.S. Supreme Court

Legislation:
N/A

Keywords:
abridgements
property theory, publishers' property

Responsible editor: Oren Bracha


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