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Venetian Decree on Privileges for New Books and Reprints, Venice (1603)
Source: N/A
Citation:
Venetian Decree on Privileges for New Books and Reprints, Venice (1603), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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any book in this City, which is no longer printed in any other place, provided
that they have a Mandate for printing that book, they can have it recorded by
one of the members of the aforesaid presidency of the Guild, whereby whoever
is the first to print such a book is understood to have the guarantee, albeit with
no other privilege, that no one apart from him may print it in all of our domains,
or offer it for sale in these once printed, for the next twenty years.
As for those which shall have been printed in Italy, both this side of the
Mountains [the Alps] and beyond, but in all cases printed with the licence
explained above, they have a privilege for ten years.
And if anyone of these matriculated printers should wish to print a book
of great value, as has happened on many occasions, which was not printed
within the preceding twenty years, he shall have a ten-year privilege to do so.
And for those which have not been printed in the preceding ten years,
the privilege to print them now is to be for five years, on the express condition
that if the Guild members concerned do not start printing the works in question
within a month of having given notice of their intentions and fail to continue
what they have started by producing at least half a printer's sheet of the work
every day, except where they have been prevented from doing so by some
legitimate reason, they must make this known to the aforesaid presidency of
the Guild, who are to report this to the aforementioned Reformatori, and are
understood to have forfeited the privilege, whereby the latter will be awarded
to the person who made the denunciation, or if there was no denunciation, to
him who is deemed suitable by the Reformatori.
And if in the books for which matriculated members of the Guild have
been granted a privilege, as detailed above, any errors are found, the person
who obtained the privilege is understood to have forfeited it without fail, and
the same applies if the works turn out to be badly printed and impressed, not
properly legible, and with bad-quality paper and ink, all of which are things
forbidden and reviled by the aforesaid Statute.
And because it is most apposite that the prohibition on granting privileges
for works which are printed outside of this City should remain in force, in order
to avoid the damage and harm which might afflict the book trade in this City as
a result of such concessions, may the following be added: That no such book
privileges for printing a work abroad may be granted under any circumstances,
unless a resolution has been voted on beforehand in our Collegio,* with five sixths
of the members being present, and provided that the resolution is issued by all
the regular members of this Collegio and passed by five sixths of the Senate, at
which a hundred and eighty or upwards of the Senators must be present; other-
wise the concession of such a privilege is to be considered null and void.
_______
*) The Collegio, made up of the Doge and 22 high-ranking councillors, was
in charge of day-to-day government business in Venice.
No Transcription available.
Source: N/A
Citation:
Venetian Decree on Privileges for New Books and Reprints, Venice (1603), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | No Commentaries
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
any book in this City, which is no longer printed in any other place, provided
that they have a Mandate for printing that book, they can have it recorded by
one of the members of the aforesaid presidency of the Guild, whereby whoever
is the first to print such a book is understood to have the guarantee, albeit with
no other privilege, that no one apart from him may print it in all of our domains,
or offer it for sale in these once printed, for the next twenty years.
As for those which shall have been printed in Italy, both this side of the
Mountains [the Alps] and beyond, but in all cases printed with the licence
explained above, they have a privilege for ten years.
And if anyone of these matriculated printers should wish to print a book
of great value, as has happened on many occasions, which was not printed
within the preceding twenty years, he shall have a ten-year privilege to do so.
And for those which have not been printed in the preceding ten years,
the privilege to print them now is to be for five years, on the express condition
that if the Guild members concerned do not start printing the works in question
within a month of having given notice of their intentions and fail to continue
what they have started by producing at least half a printer's sheet of the work
every day, except where they have been prevented from doing so by some
legitimate reason, they must make this known to the aforesaid presidency of
the Guild, who are to report this to the aforementioned Reformatori, and are
understood to have forfeited the privilege, whereby the latter will be awarded
to the person who made the denunciation, or if there was no denunciation, to
him who is deemed suitable by the Reformatori.
And if in the books for which matriculated members of the Guild have
been granted a privilege, as detailed above, any errors are found, the person
who obtained the privilege is understood to have forfeited it without fail, and
the same applies if the works turn out to be badly printed and impressed, not
properly legible, and with bad-quality paper and ink, all of which are things
forbidden and reviled by the aforesaid Statute.
And because it is most apposite that the prohibition on granting privileges
for works which are printed outside of this City should remain in force, in order
to avoid the damage and harm which might afflict the book trade in this City as
a result of such concessions, may the following be added: That no such book
privileges for printing a work abroad may be granted under any circumstances,
unless a resolution has been voted on beforehand in our Collegio,* with five sixths
of the members being present, and provided that the resolution is issued by all
the regular members of this Collegio and passed by five sixths of the Senate, at
which a hundred and eighty or upwards of the Senators must be present; other-
wise the concession of such a privilege is to be considered null and void.
_______
*) The Collegio, made up of the Doge and 22 high-ranking councillors, was
in charge of day-to-day government business in Venice.
No Transcription available.