Uncle Tom's Cabin in the Public Domain

122 Pages Posted: 2 Oct 2009

Date Written: October 1, 2009

Abstract

What is the interaction between works of art and the public domain? Copyright owners would have us believe in the Romantic Era notion of pure creativity. Proponents of the public domain argue that new works are primarily developed from prior creations. This paper traces the history of Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and identifies the interaction between the new text, prior and subsequent works, and social, political and cultural discourse.

Keywords: Public Domain, copyright, creativity, intellectual property

JEL Classification: O34, O38, K10, L82

Suggested Citation

Maxwell, Terrence A., Uncle Tom's Cabin in the Public Domain (October 1, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1481382 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1481382

Terrence A. Maxwell (Contact Author)

SUNY University at Albany ( email )

1400 Washington Avenue
Building, Room 109
Albany, NY 12222
United States

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