When the US was first getting kicked off as a nation, the US did not pay attention to copyright law. Anything in a foreign language was fair game. It was transcribed to English and republished in the US and not one diplomat would acknowledge nor address the issue of copyright violations. Nor would the US Congress.
Hollywood got it's start by pirating instead of paying for licensing costs. I'll refer you to this article.
http://www.punkerslut.com/articles/hollywood_the_worlds_greatest_pirates.html
What has happened in today's world with copyright is that it has been stretched to cover things never meant to be covered. In fact it now protects what it was designed to prevent. No one ever guaranteed profit as a result of holding a copyright. Yet that is exactly what the copywrong groups are trying to set up with the protectionism now in place.
Copyright was about promoting science. Which is to say in the language of the time; learning.