18th-century American piracy of British literature (original) (raw)

18th-century American piracy of British literature refers to the practice of reprinting British books in the United States without the permission of the original author or publisher. Plagiarism is traditionally defined as “the process of copying another person's idea or written work and claiming it as original” This definition applies to many aspects of written work in today's world and has serious consequences if found guilty of committing it, but this idea has not always been in place. During the 18th century, it was extremely common for British Literature to be reprinted across the Atlantic Ocean in America without any acknowledgment or payment given to the original author. This form of plagiarism, referred to as literary piracy, was not an easy action to control because of the immense