Baker v. Selden

Citation: Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1879).

In Baker v. Selden, the plaintiff copyrighted a treatise setting forth a particular system of bookkeeping that included unique forms for recording information. Plaintiff alleged infringement by defendant's substantially similar forms. The Supreme Court held that “blank account-books are not the subject of copyright; and that the mere copyright of Selden's book did not confer upon him the exclusive right to make and use account-books, ruled and arranged as designated by him and described and illustrated in said book.”