‘Copyright and Cartography. History, Law, and the Circulation of Geographical Knowledge’
Isabella Alexander (UTS) in Conversation with Will Slauter (Sorbonne) & Kathy Bowrey (UNSW). Chaired by Jose Bellido (Kent)
12 Oct 2023
BST 16:00; CET 17:00; EDT 11:00: PDT 8:00; AEST 13th Sept 2:00am
This open access book explores the intertwined histories of mapmaking and copyright law in Britain from the early modern period up to World War 1, focusing chiefly on the 18th and 19th centuries. Taking a multidisciplinary approach and making extensive use of the archival record, this is the first detailed, historical account of the relationship between maps and copyright. As such, it examines how the emergence and development of copyright law affected mapmakers and the map trade and how the application of copyright law to the field of mapmaking affected the development of copyright doctrine. Its explorations cast new light on the circulation of geographical knowledge, different cultures of authorship and creativity, and connections between copyright law, print culture, technology, and society.
The book’s investigations end in the first decades of the 20th century, but the tensions it identifies persist in the 21st century, although today paper maps have been largely replaced by web-based mapping platforms and digital geospatial data.
Isabella Alexander, a Professor in the Faculty of Law at UTS, is a legal historian and intellectual property scholar, whose research explores how laws inform and regulate the creation, circulation and reception of knowledge and culture from an historical perspective. She researches and teaches in intellectual property law and legal history, specialising in the law of copyright.
Will Slauter is Professor of American history and civilization, Sorbonne University. His research interests include the history of publishing, the history of news and journalism, and the history of copyright law in the United Kingdom and the United States. He is the author of Who Owns the News? A History of Copyright (Stanford University Press 2019).
Kathy Bowrey is a Professor in the School of Law, Society and Criminology, Faculty of Law & Justice, University of New South Wales. Her most recent books are Jose Bellido & Kathy Bowrey, Adventures in Childhood. Intellectual Property, Imagination and the Business of Play (Cambridge University Press, 2022) and Copyright, Creativity, Big Media & Cultural Value (Routledge, 2021)
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