Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900)

www.copyrighthistory.org

Identifier: f_1618

Commentary on the book trade regulations of 1618

Frédéric Rideau

Faculty of Law, University of Poitiers, France

Please cite as:

Rideau, Frédéric. "Commentary on the book trade regulations and incorporation of the Parisian book trade (1618)." Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900). Edited by L. Bently and M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org.

1. Full title

2. Abstract

3. References

1. Full title

Letters Patent of the King for the Regulation of the Booksellers, Printers and Binders of this City of Paris

2. Abstract

Following the political and religious turmoil of the second half of the sixteenth century, the booksellers and printers of Paris requested more definitive articles of association for their guild, and these were duly granted by Louis XIII in his letters patent of July 1618. This set of regulations, designed to provide an organisational framework for the bookselling profession, consisted of thirty-eight articles which, amongst other things, dealt with the essential question of which conditions had to be met in order to receive printing privileges from the Crown, and, in particular, what criteria were to be applied in determining their term of duration (for privileges were in theory temporary). Finally, the book trade regulations of 1618 confirmed that authors were not allowed to become involved directly in the sale of their own works, even though the author's name did have to be indicated on the title-page of their published works (this, however, being a provisional and pragmatic measure more than anything else).

3. References

full commentary in preparation