Did Germany experience rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century due to an absence of copyright law? A German historian argues that the massive proliferation of books, and thus knowledge, laid the foundation for the country’s industrial might.

He believes that copyright law, which was established in Great Britain in 1710, crippled the world of knowledge in the United Kingdom, but in Germany, where copyright law did not take hold until the mid-19th century, its absence created a climate in which knowledge spread rapidly.

In England, new discoveries were generally published in limited editions of at most 750 copies and sold at a price that often exceeded the weekly salary of an educated worker. In the few libraries that existed, the valuable volumes were chained to the shelves to protect them from potential thieves.

In Germany, publishers devised a form of publication still common today: issuing fancy editions for their wealthy customers and low-priced paperbacks for the masses. Thus, as described by a contemporary writer, “So many thousands of people in the most hidden corners of Germany, who could not have thought of buying books due to the expensive prices, have put together, little by little, a small library of reprints.”

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The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man: nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men’s hearts, of the hearts of men centuries dead.
— Clarence Day

Writing is not like painting where you add. It is not what you put on the canvas that the reader sees. Writing is more like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate in order to make the work visible. Even those pages you remove somehow remain.
— Elie Wiesel

Do you believe writers block is real or an apparition? Doctors and authors who believe in writers block agree the most common causes are depression, anxiety, and not dedicating enough time to the creative process.

Writers block clearly stands out amongst mental conundrums. When I was a software engineer no one seemed to care how long a complex program could perplexed me. As a supervisor I am occasionally stumped for months regarding serious personnel issues and still no one seems to care. Doctors are not lining up to study perplex programmers or stumped supervisors and no one seems interested in writing endless volumes of literature about these conditions. Why does writers block stand out so vividly amongst its peers?

Jacob

A good friend of mine summed up copyright law with these words: Copyright is about being able to prove you created the original work first.

Copyright law is a murky area. One of the best ways to clear the copyright cobwebs from your mind is to visit U.S. Copyright Office website. If you are new to copyright I recommend starting with the Copyright Basics, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), and How to Register a Word. For our members publishing outside the US we would love to hear about what you have learned about international copyright law and issues.

Review Fuse allows member to submit their work for peer critique either publicly or privately. If you submit your work privately it preserves your first rights of publication. Would you like to submit your work for peer review?

Jacob

In the Americas, writing groups originated during the 1700’s, during which time the majority of the population did not complete elementary education and less than 1% of Americans attended college. These early Americans where not content to wallow in self pity, lamenting their educational plight. Instead they found way to help themselves, by forming mutual improvement groups. Writing groups formed primarily to educate, but also to entertain. Mixing these two elements together formed groups that where remarkably effective at helping each other achieved new heights in writing, reading and other scholarly pursuits because the people enjoyed the educational process.

Benjamin Franklin was amongst the first to initiate literary groups.  With only two years of formal education Mr. Franklin knew he needed more. After evaluating his educational options he formed a reading and writing group called Franklin’s Junto. The Junto met frequently to review original works composed by the members by sharing ideas, criticisms, observations and corrections about the works. The ideas and education gained in Franklin’s Junto significantly helped shape him into the great man he would become.

In the mid 1700’s writing groups became popular on university campuses. A significant portion of the student’s educational experience came from reading and writing together in small groups outside of the university setting. During the 1700’s underclassmen where banned from the library making these groups their major access point for literature. Writing groups helped the students learn as they helped each other discover what constituted great literature and how to produce it in their own writing.

Since the 1700’s writing groups have been the primary method authors have used to improve their skills. A writing group needs dedicated members with a passion for learning and improving to succeed. Unlike traditional writing groups the Review Fuse community is always in session ready to help meet your writing group needs.

Jacob