 Fletcher Gyles , an English bookseller , had previously published a book entitled Matthew Hale 's Pleas of the Crown , for which he had purchased the exclusive publishing rights . Around the same time , publishers Wilcox and Nutt paid a writer named Barrow to abridge the book , circulating it under the title Modern Crown Law . Gyles alleged that Modern Crown Law was a near verbatim copy of his publication , with only minor alterations , including the translation of Latin and French passages into English and cutting old , obsolete laws . Seeking to protect his printing rights , Gyles sued both Wilcox and Nutt , along with Barrow , for a stay on the publication . 
