The names of James Joyce and Ezra Pound ring out within the annals of literary modernism, yet few realize the identify of Samuel Roth. A brash, business-savvy entrepreneur, Roth made a name--and a profit--for himself because the founding editor and proprietor of magazines that released decisions from international writings--especially the risqué parts--without permission. whilst he reprinted segments of James Joyce's epochal novel Ulysses, the writer took him to court.

Without Copyrights tells the tale of the way the clashes among authors, publishers, and literary "pirates" encouraged either American copyright legislations and literature itself. From its inception in 1790, American copyright legislation provided no or less-than-perfect safeguard for works released abroad--to the fury of Charles Dickens, between others, who occasionally got no cash from enormous revenues within the usa. American publishers kept away from ruinous festival with one another via "courtesy of the trade," a code of etiquette that gave casual, specific rights to the 1st apartment to announce plans to factor an uncopyrighted international paintings. The weather of exchange courtesy, lawful piracy, and the burdensome ideas of yankee copyright legislation profoundly affected transatlantic writers within the 20th century. Drawing on formerly unknown felony files, Robert Spoo recounts efforts through James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Bennett Cerf--the founding father of Random House--and others to weigh down piracy, reform U.S. copyright legislations, and outline the general public domain.

Featuring a colourful forged of characters made of pissed off authors, frightened publishers, and willful pirates, Spoo offers an enticing background of the yank public area, a commons formed by way of customized up to via legislations, and of piracy's advanced function within the tradition of creativity.