"Only one thing is impossible for God: to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet" - Mark Twain
In July of 1876, less than a month after the novel's initial release in England, copies of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer had begun to circulate the U.S. in large numbers. One would expect Twain to have celebrated such a development, however the book wasn't due its U.S. release for another four months, these 'pirated' editions having been produced in Canada by publishers Belford Brothers, entirely legally according to the Canadian Copyright Act of 1875. For the remainder of his career, Twain fought to see copyright laws changed and the letter below is a prime example of his subsequent frustrations, written in 1880 to friend, fellow author and, briefly, politician Rollin Dagget following an unsuccessful appeal to James Blaine. (read more here at lettersofnote.com)
Interesting blog about Mark Twain and copyright and also about the famous quote above.
