The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1619: Chapter 30: Transatlantic Standard Publishing Business (Part 3)

Although Arthur did not believe the outcome would be as good as Francis Baring boasted to him, at least Baring’s shareholding would definitely help curb the rampant piracy of British literary works by American publishers.

Even if it cannot be completely eradicated, catching a few typical cases and forcing those country bumpkins to come to London for negotiations would be worthwhile.

After all, according to the current American ”Copyright Act,” American publishers pirating ”British” works is not even illegal, because neither American copyright law nor the patent office protects foreign rights.

The American Government not only does not exclude the theft of European copyrights and patents, but even openly encourages and supports it.

Washington once praised Thomas Diggs, an American commercial spy who had been imprisoned several times in Britain, as ”not only friendly but also full of enthusiasm.”

He even recommended British businessman Howell to set up a factory in Virginia, and specifically instructed the governor not to disclose Howell’s name to avoid causing trouble for him in Britain.

Samuel Slater, praised as the ”Father of the American Industrial Revolution,” was once an apprentice in a British textile factory, but he violated Britain’s ”Prohibition of Industrial Machinery Export Act” by bringing water-powered spinning machine technology to America, and for this, he is still called a traitor by his hometown people.

And the rise of Boston businessman Francis Lowell was built on early years of long-term undercover work stealing power loom technology in British factories.

Although Arthur understood that almost all late-developing countries had to rely on stolen property rights to increase productivity, it was true for Germany and also for America.

But, surely, you should never, ever dare not treat York’s grandfather like a grandfather?

If the Baring Family is willing to support ”British” in copyright protection in America, or further directly conduct business locally, then the Empire Publishing Company could even directly give away a portion of the shares.

Not to mention, the Baring Family and the Rothschild Family also invested in most of Britain’s railway construction, with their help, getting exclusive rights to newsstands in train stations would be a piece of cake.

Therefore, in Arthur’s eyes, messing up a ballet production is really not a big deal.

Except for sensational masterpieces like ”The Sylph,” most ballet productions are seasoning between major shows like operas, and their status is not particularly important.

If this show doesn’t have the signatures of the Great Dumas, Mendelssohn, and Pettipas, then it’s simply worthless.

But the problem is that, with Arthur’s network of relationships, he is completely capable of mass-producing these ballet productions considered treasures by the Alhambra Theater.

”Hmm... but since you strongly recommend Miss Lily, I think I definitely need to arrange some time to meet her.” Arthur pondered for a moment: ”But to be on the safe side, I still hope you can help me connect with Miss Taglioni, even if she doesn’t have time to perform, but with her overseeing the selection process, we can surely find a suitable candidate.”

Arthur was talking about ballet productions all the time, but Conroy’s mind had already shifted away from performance opportunities; he was more concerned about ”Nature,” and the opportunity to become a member of the Royal Society behind ”Nature.”

He readily agreed to Arthur’s request, but under the influence of vanity, he began to inquire about the natural philosophy he rarely cared about: ”Of course, your concern is very necessary, and I am also very willing to make connections for you. However, sorry if I may seem a bit unromantic by saying this, but it’s rare to see you, so I still want to discuss with you a bit about natural philosophy.”

”Natural philosophy?” Arthur replied with a smile: ”Are you also a researcher in natural philosophy? In which aspect are you focused? Chemistry? Natural History? Electromagnetism? Or... Mathematics?”

”I can’t call myself a professional researcher, nor do I have a specific area of research, but I am indeed very passionate about natural philosophy.”

Conroy smiled broadly: ”You know, I’ve always believed that natural philosophy is a missing link in Royal Family education. Although the Bishops also spread some natural philosophy knowledge when giving Princess Victoria theology lessons, just relying on this, it’s really hard to keep up with the times. To make up for this, I always self-study some natural philosophy knowledge in my spare time, and my regular readings include the magazine ”Nature” that you founded.”