I want state here on fact, the "copyright" is an rather new anglon-saxon invention and was only later imported to Germany[1]. Interestingly, the era of the "land of poets and thinkers" and the economic rise of Germany was boosted by the fact - that there were no copyrights laws which hindered. Authors had to publish good and more work.
Printing brought profound social changes. The rise in literacy across Europe led to a dramatic increase in the demand for reading matter. Prices of reprints were low, so publications could be bought by poorer people, creating a mass audience. In German language markets before the advent of copyright, technical materials, like popular fiction, were inexpensive and widely available; it has been suggested this contributed to Germany's industrial and economic success. After copyright law became established (in 1710 in England and Scotland, and in the 1840s in German-speaking areas) the low-price mass market vanished, and fewer, more expensive editions were published; distribution of scientific and technical information was greatly reduced.
And from the history arctile
Heinrich Heine, in a 1854 letter to his publisher, complains: "Due to the tremendously high prices you have established, I will hardly see a second edition of the book anytime soon. But you must set lower prices, dear Campe, for otherwise I really don't see why I was so lenient with my material interests."
It is not okay to claim other works as yours, publish private material or just don't give you a fair share upon your work. Probably we should have opted for another approach than "copyright" or "patents". Luckily the US at least got "Fair Use" and maybe the idea of a "Culture Flatrate" from Germany is also a good idea.
Copyright is, probably, very Continental. In the late 15th century, before the arrival of the printing press to England, Venice had become the "capital of printing," and the Venetian Cabinet granted the first exclusive right to publish a particular book to Daniele Barbaro for a term of ten years. Christopher May (2002) The Venetian Moment: New Technologies, Legal Innovation and the Institutional Origins of Intellectual Property, Prometheus, 20:2, 172, DOI: 10.1080/08109020210138979. It was only later that England codified the concept of copyright.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Background
Quote from Wikipedia
Printing brought profound social changes. The rise in literacy across Europe led to a dramatic increase in the demand for reading matter. Prices of reprints were low, so publications could be bought by poorer people, creating a mass audience. In German language markets before the advent of copyright, technical materials, like popular fiction, were inexpensive and widely available; it has been suggested this contributed to Germany's industrial and economic success. After copyright law became established (in 1710 in England and Scotland, and in the 1840s in German-speaking areas) the low-price mass market vanished, and fewer, more expensive editions were published; distribution of scientific and technical information was greatly reduced.
And from the history arctile
Heinrich Heine, in a 1854 letter to his publisher, complains: "Due to the tremendously high prices you have established, I will hardly see a second edition of the book anytime soon. But you must set lower prices, dear Campe, for otherwise I really don't see why I was so lenient with my material interests."
It is not okay to claim other works as yours, publish private material or just don't give you a fair share upon your work. Probably we should have opted for another approach than "copyright" or "patents". Luckily the US at least got "Fair Use" and maybe the idea of a "Culture Flatrate" from Germany is also a good idea.