1802–1804
Statute of limitationsLiterary PropertyCopyrightAndrew Bell, an engraver, included pages from James Clark's book in the Encyclopedia Britannica without permission. James Clark claimed that he had the copyright to the information, but Bell argued that the statute of limitations had expired on the claim. The case had originally been heard by a Lord Ordinary who had required Bell to return the pages to Clark. However, Bell appealed the statute of limitations issue to the higher court, which agreed with him that it was possible Clark's claim to the material had expired. As a result, the case was remanded to the Lord Ordinary to reconsider the penalty he had imposed requiring Bell to return the pages to Clark. Note: Clark is indexed as "Clerk" in the digest.
Documents in this case (2)
- Clark v. Bell — Petition, 30 Nov 1802November 30, 1802 Petition of Andrew Bell asking the Court to assoilzie him from the action brought by James Clarke for alleged copyright infringement in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
- James Clark v. Andrew Bell — Answers, 19 Apr 1803April 19, 1803 Answers by James Clark to the petition of Andrew Bell, asserting that Bell copied and reprinted his farriery works into the Encyclopaedia Britannica without consent.
People & places in this case
People involved
- Andrew Bell — Pursuer
- James Clark — Defender
- J. Macfarquhar , W.S. — Agent
- M. Clk. — Clerk
- John Gray — Agent
- P. Clerk — Clerk
- Colin Macfarquhar
Places
- Edinburgh (principal)
Where this case took place
Published Reports
William Morison, The Decisions of the Court of Session (1811), pg. Literary Property Appendix page 8
