Have a laugh at modern contemporary comparisons while reading about the history of copyright:
Under its auspices, and purporting to control the production of religious materials, the British government granted the exclusive right to publish printed works to the Stationer’s Company in 1534. The Stationer’s Company, in exchange for its monopoly, was obliged to seek permission from the Crown before it printed anything. The Stationer’s Company was the sixteenth century version of Fox News. As a result, the Crown conveniently only had to keep on eye on one media outlet to dampen dissent and attenuate propaganda. (emphasis added)
That piece of legislation was eventually allowed to expire (150-odd years later!) in 1694, and in 1710, the Statute of Anne passed Parliament, giving birth to the modern concept of “authorship.”
[via Benedict.com]
