The original intention of copyright was to provide a means to ensure the public had a copious supply of 'good books' to read, and this principle has been extended to other forms of creative work such as paintings, music, designs of buildings and photographs.

The early proponents of copyright took the view that it was not sensible to rely on wealthy individuals to find the time and generosity to do creative work and donate it to the public. It limited the character, quality and quantity of work created, and there needed to be another mechanism capable of supporting the creative work of 'ordinary men'. The choice was between patronage (which we would nowadays recognise as employment) whereby the patron would acquire ownership in return for sustaining the work of the author, and copyright, which created proprietorial rights for the author so that an income could be realised from the work itself.

This principle has remained unchanged, although the world has certainly altered a great deal. Copyright is now widely perceived as a tool of monopoly and price control in the hands of large corporations, but for individual creators there remains no alternative mechanism of fair reward.