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Prussian Copyright Act, Berlin (1837)
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt
Citation:
Prussian Copyright Act, Berlin (1837), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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169
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
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt
Citation:
Prussian Copyright Act, Berlin (1837), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | Commentaries: [1]
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
169
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