Daly v. Brady

It is to be regretted that it must he held that the complainant has not a valid copyright to his dramatic composition, “Under the Gas-Light: A Drama of Life and Love in These Times,” because the copy of the title deposited by him in the clerk’s office of the district court reads, “Under the Gas-Light: A Romantic Panorama of the Streets and Homes of New York.” The title to a copyright is purely statutory, and a performance of the conditions imposed by the laws of congress is indispensable to its creation, and to the existence of any literary prop*266erty in the published work. Wheaton v. Peters, 8…