Baker v. Selden
United States Supreme Court
101 U.S. 99, 25 L. Ed. 841 (1879)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Charles Selden (plaintiff) obtained a copyright for his book, Selden’s Condensed Ledger, or Book-keeping Simplified. The book described Selden’s system of bookkeeping and also contained illustrated examples of the system. The examples consisted of “form or blanks, consisting of ruled lines, and headings, illustrating the system.” Selden brought suit against Baker (defendant) for copyright infringement on account of Baker’s reproducing the illustrated examples of the system. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bradley, J.)
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