PRIMARY SOURCES

ON COPYRIGHT

(1450-1900)

The 'Fixed and Indissoluble' Contract of the Guild of Printers and Booksellers, Leiden (1660)

Source: Regionaal Archief Leiden, Oud Notarieel Archief, 506, inventarisnummer 674 (Archief van notaris Nicolaes Paets), no. 123 of 10 November 1660 (276-279)

Citation:
The 'Fixed and Indissoluble' Contract of the Guild of Printers and Booksellers, Leiden (1660), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org

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will and be privileged, the person of us who first will have send the proof-sheet to the Clerk, as is reported in the above fourth and sixth Article; Nevertheless with the proviso that the first owner, first and priorly should be given notice on the aforesaid failure as well as the re-printing, be it in the presence, or otherwise with knowledge, of the Clerk, before another of us may print the Book: But the aforesaid first Owner, if he not inclined to reprint his own Print, is allowed to set such a price as he deems appropriate on some few copies which he has left, as he then thereby will loose the property of that Print and it will be revoked.

IX.
Each one of the Contracting parties, whose Book or Print has been copied by another not party to this Contract, will be allowed to also print one or more such Prints of that Copier, as he whose Books have been copied as he deems appropriate and necessary, to thus regain and recover his damages as much as possible: and as soon as our fellow contracting party has printed and published the aforesaid Book of the mentioned Copier, none of us may buy or sell any other copies than those that our fellow Contracting party may buy or sell; unless the Contracting Party beforehand may have traded or sold any of the aforesaid Copier's Books; of which he should give notice to the fellow Contracting Party who will also have printed the aforesaid Book: and the Books, as above, sold or traded by that Contracting Party, being sold out, he may not buy in no other such Books of the aforesaid Copier not party to this Contract, and as soon as our fellow Contracting Party has given us notice that he has taken such Book to Press, none of us will be permitted to buy or trade large quantities of that Book, but only that which as is necessary daily. All on the penalty of 50 guilders, the one half for the benefit of our fellow Contracting Party whose book will have been copied, a quarter for our Board, and the remaining quarter for the Poor.

X.
And so that all the aforesaid and following articles will be complied with better and in all parts, as we also promise by our undersigning, thus has been approved and accepted that we yearly, on the first Wednesday in August, each at his own expense, will appear together in Amsterdam, at the place to be devised by the Praeses and Assessori, to orally speak to each other, and also from our Meeting will be elected by majority vote seven Persons, of which one will be Praeses and six Assessori, and of which in the one Year three, and in the other Year four, will withdraw, and the same number will be elected anew; Even as by unanimous, or otherwiseby majority vote of the Meeting, this Contract will be expanded with such articles, or any of them changed in such a manner as will be deemed necessary and useful to the welfare and good of the Booktrade.

XI.
All issues, differences and misunderstandings which may occur between our Contracting Parties, or some of us, concerning this Contract, will have to be decided and determined, none excluded, by the aforesaid Praeses and Assessoren, or the majority of them, to which judgment and ruling we Contracting Parties hereby submit and subject ourselves in all, without doing or have done anything against it, directly nor indirectly, within the law as well as without, renouncing not only all further improvements, but also ir-


    


hebben en gepraefereert werden, die gene van ons, die het eerste proef-bladt aen den Scriba sal over gesonden hebben, even als hier voren in het vierde en seste Articul staet vermelt; Wel-verstaende nochtans, dat de eerste eygenaer eerst en al voren, van het voorsz manquement, als mede tot het wederom drucken van 't voorsz Boeck, 't zy in 't by-wesen, ofte anders, met kennisse van den Scriba, sal moeten aengemaent zijn, eer dat een ander van ons het selve Boeck sal mogen op-leggen: Doch sal de voorsz eerste Eygenaer, by aldien hy niet genegen is, sijn eygen Copy te her-drucken, vermogen eenige weynige exemplaren, die hy daer van sal over hebben, op sodanigen prijs te stellen, als hem sal goet duncken, des sal hy alsdan daer mede den eygendom van de selve Copy verliesen, en daer van versteecken zijn.

IX.
Een yegelijck van ons Contractanten, wiens Boeck ofte Copy, door een ander buyten dit Contract zijnde, na-gedruckt is, sal vermogen, een ofte meer sodanige Copyen van deselve Na-drucker, mede te drucken, als den geenen, wiens Boeck na-gedruckt sal zijn, goet en raetsaem sal duncken, om alsoo sijn schade, soo veel doenlijck, daer door te recouvreren en verhalen: en sal niemant van ons, soo haest onse mede-Contractant het voorsz Boeck van de gemelte Na-drucker, gedruckt sal hebben en komen uyt te geven, eenige andere exemplaren, dan alleen van de selve onse mede-Contractant mogen aenkopen ofte vertieren; ten ware dat de Contractant, van te vooren eenige van des voorsz Na-druckers Boecken mochte in-gemangelt ofte gekocht hebben; waer van hy aen den mede-Contractant die het voorsz Boeck ook gedruckt sal hebben, sal moeten kennisse geven: en de Boecken, by den selven Contractant, als voren, gekocht ofte in-gemangelt, uyt-verkocht zijnde, sal hy geen andere van sodanige Boecken vanden voorsz Na-drucker buyten dit Contract zijnde, mogen inkopen, en soo haest onse mede-Contractant aen ons notitie sal gedaen hebben dat hy sodanig Boeck heeft op de Pers genomen, sal het niemant van ons geoorloft zijn, quantiteyt van het selve Boeck te kopen ofte in te mangelen, maer alleen soo veel nemen als dagelijx van doen heeft. Alles op de verbeurte van 50 guldens, d'eene helft ten behoeve van onse mede-Contractant wiens Boeck na-gedruckt sal zijn, een vierde part voor ons Collegie, en 't resteerende vierde part voor den Armen.

X.
En op dat alle de voorsz en volgende articulen, dies te beter en in alle deelen mogen onderhouden werden, gelijck wy oock by onse ondertekeninge beloven te doen, soo is goet gevonden en geaccordeert, dat wy jaerlijckx, op den eersten woensdagh in Augusto, yeder op sijn eygen beurs, by malkanderen sullen compareren tot Amsterdam, ter plaetsen by de Praeses en Assessoren te beramen, om aldaer mondelingh met malkanderen te spreecken, en ook uyt onse Vergaderinge, by pluraliteyt van stemmen, te verkiesen seven Personen, waer van een Praeses en ses Assessoren sullen zijn, en van de welcke, op het eene Jaer drie, op het andere Jaer, vier, sullen afgaen, en gelijck getal weder gekoren werden; Als wanneer oock by gemeene, ofte anders by meerderheyt van stemmen van de selve Vergaderinge, dit Contract met sodanige articulen sal worden geamplieert, ofte eenige van dien in sulcker voegen verandert, als tot welvaren en ten meesten beste vanden Boeckhandel sal nodigh en dienstig bevonden werden.

XI.
Sullende alle questien, differenten en misverstanden die tusschen ons Contractanten, ofte eenige van ons, souden mogen vallen, dit Contract aengaende, geen uytgesondert, moeten gedecideert en getermineert worden, by den voorsz Praeses en Assessoren, ofte het meerendeel van dien, welckers oordeel en uytspraecke, wy Contractanten ons mitsdesen in alles submitteeren en onderwerpen, sonder daer tegens te doen ofte laten geschieden, directelijck noch indirectelijck, in rechte noch daer buyten, renuncieerende niet alleen van alle vordere reductien, maer oock onweder-


    


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