PRIMARY SOURCES

ON COPYRIGHT

(1450-1900)

Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance, Stockholm (1810)

Source: Kong. Maj:ts Och Riksens Ständers Faststälde Tryckfrihets-Förordning; Dat. Stockholm den 9 Martii 1810. Cum Gratia & Privilegio S:æ R:æ Maj:tis. STOCKHOLM, Tryckt i Kongl. Tryckeriet, 1810.

Citation:
Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance, Stockholm (1810), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org

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Record-ID: sc_1810

Permanent link: https://copyrighthistory.org/cam/tools/request/showRecord.php?id=record_sc_1810

Full title:
The Freedom of the Press Ordinance approved by his Royal Majesty and the Estates of the Nation; Dd. Stockholm, 9 March 1810

Full title original language:
Kong. Maj:ts Och Riksens Ständers Faststälde Tryckfrihets-Förordning; Dat. Stockholm den 9 Martii 1810

Abstract:
Sweden’s Freedom of the Press Ordinance of 1810 was not only a return to the liberal ideals that shaped the famous Freedom of the Press Ordinance of 1766 (sometimes referred to as the world’s first freedom of the press act), but it was also, arguably, Sweden’s first copyright regulation. This was indeed the first time that authors’ rights to the works they produced were acknowledged in Swedish law, although it was only mentioned in one paragraph, stating that ‘Any writing is the property of the author or its legal proprietor.’ The inclusion of authors’ rights in the Freedom of the Press Ordinance was largely uncontroversial and uncontested, and this commentary argues that it was most likely included because many of those involved in drafting the legislation were not only politicians but also authors and intellectuals. As such, they were familiar with the debates on authors’ rights in England and on the continent at the time. However, unlike in other European countries, the legislators did not elaborate on the nature and limitations of literary ownership, but merely assumed that the ownership of texts was to be equated with any other form of material property. Consequently, early Swedish copyright came to be entirely unlimited in time.

1 Commentary:
commentary_sc_1810

Bibliography:
N/A

Related documents in this database:
1810: Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance
1841: Swedish Ordinance on the Limitation of Terms of Protection

Author: Charles XIII

Publisher: Kongl. Tryckeriet

Year: 1810

Location: Stockholm

Language: Swedish

Source: Kong. Maj:ts Och Riksens Ständers Faststälde Tryckfrihets-Förordning; Dat. Stockholm den 9 Martii 1810. Cum Gratia & Privilegio S:æ R:æ Maj:tis. STOCKHOLM, Tryckt i Kongl. Tryckeriet, 1810.

Persons referred to:
N/A

Places referred to:
N/A

Cases referred to:
N/A

Institutions referred to:
Supreme Court of Sweden
The National Archives of Sweden
The National Library of Sweden
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Legislation:
N/A

Keywords:
book trade
censorship
censorship, pre-publication
defamation
enlightenment, the
immoral works
penalties
privileges
privileges, printing
reputation

Responsible editor: Marius Buning


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