 In 1765, he and publisher Andrew Millar sued Alexander Donaldson in the Court of Chancery over Donaldson's reprinting of books whose protection under the Statute of Anne had lapsed, maintaining that the works were protected in perpetuity by a common law copyright.In the cases, "Osborne v. Donaldson" and "Millar v. Donaldson", Robert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington ruled in favour of Donaldson and against common law copyright.Henley proposed that the case be brought before the House of Lords, but Osborne and Millar refused, fearing a decisive rejection of their position.