The essay analyses some epigrams by Martial (in particular epigr. 1, 52, in which the poet uses the term plagiarius referring to one who has publicly self-attributed the authorship of a poem by others) and an exchange of letters between Symmachus and Ausonius (in which it is stated that oratio publicata res libera est) in order to check whether some form of legal protection of literary property had been granted in Rome. From the examination of the sources, it was concluded that there was no kind of legal protection for the intellectual property of a written text and that the authors could, at most, hope that the plagiarist would incur a form of social disapproval.
Oratio publicata res libera est (Symm. epist. 1,31). Note minime sul plagio letterario
Margherita Scognamiglio
2020-01-01
Abstract
The essay analyses some epigrams by Martial (in particular epigr. 1, 52, in which the poet uses the term plagiarius referring to one who has publicly self-attributed the authorship of a poem by others) and an exchange of letters between Symmachus and Ausonius (in which it is stated that oratio publicata res libera est) in order to check whether some form of legal protection of literary property had been granted in Rome. From the examination of the sources, it was concluded that there was no kind of legal protection for the intellectual property of a written text and that the authors could, at most, hope that the plagiarist would incur a form of social disapproval.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
