The article is an archaeological description of ideologies related to the authorship in modern Hungarian literature. It presents the results of a sociological analysis of the discussions around the proposals on the first copyright law. According to the author, the approach which considers copyright as a mere social response to the economic valorization of literature, or to a new chance to the authors to make a living through writing, or to the acceptance of authorship as a legitimate civic career reflects a narrow focus. Debates about copyright thematize other important issues as well, like the national protectionism in literature and art, the problem of the border between the authorship and intellectual property, dilemmas related to the value and authorship etc. These questions do not seem to have lost their actuality, indeed, in the era of digital authorship they show up again with great vehemence.