Copyright law in 1830

New York, where the Book of Mormon was first published, provided for the granting of copyrights to ”authors and proprietors,” but did not offer the same to translators.

In order to secure the copyright, Joseph had to apply as the “author and proprietor.” The title page was filed with the copyright application. Notice in the first paragraph of the title page, that even though Joseph Smith legally claimed his right as “author,” he still inserted information making it clear that the text originated from an ancient, pre-written “abridgement” that came forth to the modern world “by the gift and power of God” and through an act of “interpretation” or translation.

It should also be pointed out that in the Preface of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon the Prophet Joseph Smith designated himself as the “Author” but also indicated no less than six times that he was the translator of the text. Likewise, it can be seen in the 1830 testimony of the
Eight Witnesses that Joseph Smith is called the “Author and Proprietor of this work” but it is also said that he “translated” the golden plates in order to obtain the text of the Book of Mormon.

This complaint is not a serious issue, but merely an effort to find fault. Critics would do better engaging the text of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph always insisted was not his production, but a translation by the power and gift of God.

The full FAIR wiki article, including all scriptural and academic references, may be accessed at http://en.fairmormon.org/index.php/Joseph

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