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8 translated pages

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Code of Laws

for the

Royal Prussian Lands.

1837

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Contains

the statutes from 10 January up to 21 December 1837,
as well as statutes from the year 1836.

(From Nr.1767 to Nr.1852)

Nr. 1 up to and including Nr. 24


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Berlin,

available at the Joint Office for Sales of Codes of Law and Newspapers.

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Code of Laws
for the
Royal Prussian Lands.
________________
Nr. 22
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Statute for the protection of property in Works of Scholarship and art
against reprinting and reproduction. [Enacted] on 11 June 1837

We, Frederick William, by the Grace of God, King of
Prussia etc. etc.

      In order to safeguard, for the sake of property in works of scholarship
and the arts, the necessary protection [of these] from reprinting and reproduction,
We have felt induced to subject the existing laws to a certain modification and
expansion, and We hereby, on the request of Our State Ministry and following a report
from Our State Council, enact the following.
      §. 1. The right to have an already published work reprinted anew, wholly or
partially, or reproduced by any kind of mechanical means, is vested solely in its
author or in those who have been appointed by him for this purpose.
      §. 2. Every such new reproduction, if undertaken without the consent of the
exlusive right-holder (§1.), is regarded as a reprint, and is forbidden.
      §. 3. It is considered as equivalent to reprinting, and hence also forbidden,
to carry out, without the consent of the author or his legal successors, an
impression of
            a) manuscripts of all kinds,
            b) transcribed sermons or academic lectures, regardless of
            whether these are published under the author's real name
            or not.
      §.4. Not to be regarded as reprinting is:
      1) the verbatim quotation of individual sections from an already printed
      work;

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      2) the inclusion of separate articles, poems etc. in critical and
      literary-historical works and in compilations for school use;
      3) the publication of translations of already printed works.
      By way of exception, however, translations are to be regarded as
equivalent to reprints in the following cases:
      a) if a German translation of a work whose author had originally written
      and published it in an extinct language, is brought out without
      his permission.
      b) if the author of a book has had it published in several modern
      languages at the same time, and a new translation is, without his
      permission, undertaken into one of the languages in which it had
      originally appeared. If the author has announced on the title-page
      of the first edition his intention to bring out a translation of his
      work into a specific language, then this translation, provided that
      it appears within two years from the publication of the original work,
      is to be regarded as having appeared at the same time as the latter.
      §. 5. The protection against reprinting and equivalent actions (§§. 2 and 3),
which is provided by the present statute, will be vested in the author of a
work, sermon, or lecture for the duration of his lifetime.
      §. 6. The author's heirs shall also enjoy the same protection for thirty
years after the death of their testator, regardless of whether the work had
already appeared in print during his lifetime or not. Once these thirty years
have expired, the protection afforded by this statute ceases.
      §. 7. Insofar as one is dealing with reprinting proper (§§.1. and 2.),
the term of protection prescribed in §§. 5 and 6 is granted on the premise
that the real name of the author has been indicated on the title-page or
beneath the dedication or preface. A work published under an assumed name,
or without stating an author at all, shall be protected against reprinting
for fifteen years from its first publication, whereby, as far as the exercise
of this right is concerned, the publisher shall take the place of the unknown
author. If within these fifteen years the author's real name is divulged
either by himself or by his heirs, by means of a new impression or simply a
new title-page for the copies still in stock, then the work thereby becomes
eligible for the term of protection specified in §§. 5. and 6.
      §. 8. Academies, universities, public educational institutions, scholarly

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and other permitted societies, shall enjoy the exclusive right to
republish their works for thirty years. This term is to be calculated
            a) from the date of their completion, for works dealing with a
            single problem over one or several volumes and which may
            therefore be appropriately regarded as belonging to a continuous
            whole (this includes also lexical works);
            b) but from the publication date of each single volume, for those
            works which can only be regarded as ongoing collections of essays
            and treatises on various subjects of scholarly research.
      If, however, the authors arrange for separate editions of such essays and
treatises, they become eligible for the provisions specified by §§. 5. and 6.
      §. 9. The exclusive right of publication and distribution of works, which
is vested in the author and his heirs, can be assigned by the former, wholly or
partially, to other persons by means of an agreement made for this specific
purpose.
      §. 10. Whosoever encroaches on the exclusive right to which authors and their
heirs or legal successors are legally entitled, by making use of it without their
permission, shall be obliged to fully indemnify the affected party, and, in addition
to having all copies still in stock confiscated from him, he also becomes liable to
pay a fine of 50 - 1,000 thaler.
      §. 11. If the work had already been published by the legitimate right-holder,
the sum of the indemnities to be paid will be adjudicated, depending on the circum-
stances, so as to correspond to the sales price of 50 - 1,000 copies of the legitimate
edition, unless, of course, the right-holder can prove that his losses were greater.
      §. 12. The confiscated copies of the unlawful edition shall be destroyed
or handed over to the injured party at their request. In the latter case, however, the
injured party must accept that the costs expended on these copies by the convicted
defendant will be deducted from the compensation which is due to him.
      §. 13. Whosoever knowingly offers for sale illegally reproduced works becomes
jointly liable with the unauthorised reprinter to indemnify the injured party, and,
apart from confiscation, must also pay a fine which is to be assessed according to §. 10.
      §. 14. The offence of reprinting is committed when copies of a book are found
which have been produced in violation of the present provisions.
      §. 15. Proceedings concerning the offences specified in §§. 2. 3. and 4.

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shall not to be initiated ex officio but, rather, only at the request of
the injured party.
      If the publisher of the work does not want to make such a request, then the author
or his heirs can do so, insofar as they still retain an interest which is independent from
that of the publisher.
      §. 16. Once proceedings have been initiated, the claim may be withdrawn with regard to
compensation, but not as far as the confiscation and fine are concerned.
      §. 17. If the judge is in doubt as to whether a printed work is to be regarded as a reprint
an illegal copy, or if the amount of compensation to be paid is disputed, then the judge must
obtain an opinion from an association made up of experts.
      The establishment of one or several of these experts' associations, which are to consist
predominantly of esteemed writers, is subject to a special order which is to be issued by Our
State Ministry.
      §. 18. What is prescribed above in §§. 1., 2., 5. to 17. regarding the exclusive right to
reproduce written works, is to be applied likewise to geographical, topographical, scientific,
architectural and similar drawings and illustrations, which, in accordance with their principal
function, cannot be classified as works of art (§. 21).
      §. 19. The same provisions apply with regard to the exclusive right to the reproduction of
musical compositions.
      §. 20. It shall be treated as equivalent to reprinting if somebody, without the author's
consent, publishes extracts, arrangements for various instruments, or other types of adaptation,
which cannot be regarded as original compositions in their own right.
      §. 21. The reproduction of drawings or paintings by means of copper engraving, steel
engraving, woodcut, lithography, colour printing, tracing etc. is forbidden, when it is carried
out without the consent of the author of the original work of art or his legal successors.
      §. 22. The copying of sculptures of any kinds by means of making casts, models etc. is
forbidden under the same condition.
      §. 23. With regard to these prohibitions (§§ 21. and 22.), it is irrelevant whether the
copy was made in dimensions different to those of the reproduced work, or with any other
deviations from it, unless these alterations happened to be so predominant that the product
could rightly be regarded not as a mere reproduction, but as an original work of art.
      §. 24. It is not to be regarded as an illegal imitation, if

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a work of art, which has been produced by painting or by another of the graphic arts,
is represented by means of the plastic arts, or vice versa.
      §. 25. The use of works of art as models for manufactured goods and the products
of factories and handicrafts is allowed.
      §. 26. The author of a work of art and his heirs are to enjoy the exclusive rights
guaranteed to them by §§. 21 et seq., as long as the original remains in their possession.
      §. 27. If, whilst being in this state, they wish to make use of the right of copying,
to which they are exclusively entitled, and to protect themselves against encroachments by
others, they must announce their intention to the Supreme Board of Artistic Trustees (the
Ministry for Religious, Educational and Medical Affairs), as well as submit a declaration
that they are not willing to tolerate reproductions carried out by others, unless these
have obtained their explicit permission. If this announcement and declaration have been
made, the artist and his heirs shall be entitled to the exclusive right to reproduce the
work of art for a period of ten years. Thus, if someone else wants to copy, by means of
some artistic technique, a work of art which has already been reproduced by its author or
his heirs, and wishes to distribute the copy, he must first obtain an official statement
from the Supreme Board of Artistic Trustees, to confirm whether an announcement and
declaration of the aforementioned kind had been filed there. If such an announcement and
declaration have not been made, or if ten years have expired since their submission, it
is permitted to reproduce the work of art.
      §. 28. If the author or his heirs forgo ownership of the work of art before any steps
have been taken towards its reproduction, then their exclusive right to this lapses completely,
unless an explicit agreement concerning this has been made. However, such a right may continue
to hold for a period of ten years, either in favour of the author or of his heirs, if they
reserve it to themselves, or in favour of the purchaser, if they transfer it to him, provided
that in both cases at the same time as the sale of the work an agreement to this effect is
made in a credible form, and that the aforementioned announcement is made to the Supreme Board
of Artistic Trustees.
      §. 29. A copy of a work of art, which has been legitimately reproduced by means
of a different technique to that used for the original, e.g. by copper or steel engraving, woodcut
etc. (§. 21.) or by means of casts, models etc. (§. 22), may not itself be reproduced, without
the consent of the person who undertook the first reproduction or his legal successors, by a purely
mechanical process, as long as the plates, moulds, and models through which the [first] reproduction

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was brought about, are still usable. The provision laid down in §. 23. is also
applicable here.
      §. 30. The provisions of §§. 10. - 16. shall also be applied with regard to
works of art and graphic representations of all kinds.
      The confiscation prescribed in §. 10. is also to be extended to the apparatus
used to carry out the reproduction of works of art, i.e. to plates, moulds, stones etc.
      §. 31. If there are any doubts as to whether a copy falls under the categories
specified in §. 18 or §. 21; or whether, in the case of §. 20, a piece of music is to
be regarded as a composition in its own right or as a reprint; or whether, in the cases
specified in §§. 21 - 29, a reproduction is to be considered illegal; or as to how high
the amount of compensation due to the injured party should be set; or whether the condition
specified in §. 29 concerning the usability of plates, moulds, and models is still valid,
then the judge must, as in §. 17, request a report from an association of experts.
      The establishment of such associations, which are preferably to be made up of
connoisseurs and esteemed artists, is likewise subject to the order mentioned in §. 17.
      §. 32. The public performance of a dramatic or musical work, be it wholly or partially or
with insignificant abridgements, may only take place with the permission of the author,
his heirs or legal successors, as long as the work has not been published by means of
printing. The exclusive right to grant this permission is vested in the author for life,
and in his heirs or legal successors for a period of ten years after his death.
      §. 33. If, however, the author has given permission to a specific theatre to perform
the play without stating his name, then no exclusive right against other theatres applies.
      §. 34. Whosoever publicly performs, contrary to the exclusive right of the author or
his legal successors, a dramatic or musical work that has not yet been published in print,
becomes liable to pay a fine of 10 - 100 thaler.
      If the unauthorised performance of a dramatic work takes play in a theatre-house, then
the whole takings for every performance are to be paid as a fine, without deduction of the
expenses incurred to put on the performance and regardless of whether that play was performed
on its own or in conjunction with another work.
      Of the aforementioned fines, two thirds are to go to the author or his heirs, and one
third to the local poor-box.
      §. 35. The present statute shall also be applied in favour of

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all already printed works, geographical, topographical and similar drawings,
musical compositions and existing works of art.
      §. 36. The holder of a privilege granted before the enactment of the present
statute is at liberty to decide whether he wants to make use of this privilege or
invoke the protection provided by this statute.
      §. 37. All previous provisions that conflict with, or deviate from, this
statute are no longer valid.
      §. 38. This statute shall be applied to works published in foreign countries to
the same extent that the rights established in it are likewise granted to works
published in Our lands by the laws of those countries.
      In proof of which there follows Our personal signature, accompanied by
the Royal Seal.
      Enacted in Berlin, 11 June 1837.

                        (place of the seal)            Frederick William.

                                                      Karl, Duke of Mecklenburg
                        Baron von Altenstein      von Kamptz      Mühler
                                                                              Certified:
                                                                        On behalf of the Secretary of State:
                                                                              Duesberg.






Translation by: Friedemann Kawohl