And that was the case when it was put in place.<p>When copyright first came to be, it was a negotiating leverage between the singular author and the owners of printing presses (very mechanical and labor intensive to operate, and therefore it was rarely done without sales in mind) for a share of the profits.<p>Without it, it was not uncommon for a printer to buy a text for pennies and then resell copies for pounds.<p>Then again, it also introduced the title page holding the name of author and printer. Thus the government had names to lean on if the content was not acceptable...