literary property

noun

1

a

: the property an author or those claiming under him has in the written product of his intellectual skill and labor either before or after general publication and either at common law or under statutory copyright

b

: the written product of an author or any copy thereof

2

: the property an author or those claiming under him has in his work under common law prior to copyright consisting chiefly of his right to control the use, enjoyment, and disposition of such work for profit or any purpose, this right being superseded by statutory copyright and lost by dedication of such work to the public compare copyright

Word History

First Known Use

1747, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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