MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC COPYRIGHT. BY EDWARD CUTLER, ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S COUNSEL, THOMAS EUSTACE SMITH AND, ESQUIRES, BARRISTERS-AT-LAW. CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED: LONDON, PARIS & MELBOURNE. 1890. [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC COPYRIGHT. INTRODUCTION. THE axiom that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing applies, it must be admitted, in all its force to litigation. Law has been described as a razor of preternatural sharpness, more remarkable for shaving very close than for always shaving the right man; and even if some of us, actuated by a sentimental attachment to our profession, deny the general application of this description, few will doubt its correctness when the weapon is wielded by inexperienced hands. The law of copyright is, however, an exception to this rule; the legal and literary professions readily assimilate; the abstract reasoning power necessary for success in the one has to be cultivated in a diluted form by the disciples of the other; and cases often occur, like that of the late Mr. Charles Reade, where amateurs have successfully argued in person cases in which they have been interested; and not only have kept clear of the stigma attached by popular opinion to the client of the man who is his own lawyer, but have held their own against eminent professional advocates. Cheered by this reflection the writers have aimed at combining in this little work matter appealing to two classes; they hope to have attained precision enough to satisfy the requirements of professional lawyers; and on the B Reade v. Bentley, |