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Book Decree of the Province of Holland, The Hague (1796)
Source: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW Plakk Q 174 [16]
Citation:
Book Decree of the Province of Holland, The Hague (1796), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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12 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
PUBLICATION,
ON THE
PRIVILEGES AND PATENTS,
AS WELL AS ON THE
RIGHT TO COPY AND PROPERTY
IN THE
BOOK TRADE.
LAID DOWN BY THE
PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION
OF
HOLLAND
8th December 1796.
THE SECOND YEAR OF THE BATAVIAN FREEDOM.
In The HAGUE, At the State Printing House of Holland: 1796.
Chapter 1 Page 2
(3)
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
PUBLICATION.
The PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION of HOLLAND, to all their Fellow Citizens, who will see or hear read this: Prosperity and Fraternity! Let it be known:
That not long after the latest turn of events, on the occasion of the request of a Booktrader residing in this Province, made to the then provisional Representatives of the People of Holland by Petition, in order to allow him being granted an exclusive Patent or privilege to print and publish certain Work, (on which he had obtained the so-called Copyright) to style, being suggested to the Hon. Meeting by some members in their midst whether such exclusive Patents should not be understood as in conflict with the Human rights, and whether furthermore ought not to be left to the Booksellers to make arrangements among themselves for the protection of everyone's due right, or it should be provided for in any other way, this has lead the aforementioned provisional representatives with the Decree of 27th February 1795, to hand over the aforesaid Petition, and the suggestion following, to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring, to which another two members of the aforesaid Meeting have joined as concerns the Book trade, in order to investigate it, and to report on their findings and considerations: While subsequently on the occasion of several additional petitions handed in by various booksellers about the repor-
Chapter 1 Page 3
(4)
ted topic, and all in substance to the effect to maintain the lawfully obtained property, the aforesaid appointed Commission, with the additional Decree of 29th June of that year, has been increased with another two members from among the already mentioned Meeting in order to jointly examine all these Petitions, as well as to enter into conference thereon with the booksellers from the respective Cities, and in particular with the Chairman and Masters of the Booksellers' Guild in Leyden, and give a final report thereafter on that finding and process.
That the aforementioned Committee members rightfully have considered that on the one hand, exclusive Patents or Privileges, which had been in use untill that time, had the objective to conditionally and privately guarantee the property of Booksellers on the Books, Works, or Writings which thus were published, from which seemingly would follow that any Bookseller would not have an equal right to other Works, of which he had obtained the Copyright, but which had been published by him without such a Patent, and that therefore such so-called Privileges should in practice should be considered as objectionable or undue, and in the current state of affairs can no longer be approved of, but that however on the other hand, the property on any Books, Works or Writings, having been lawfully obtained by the respective Booktraders or Sellers should be protected; and considering they in that respect have lawful claim to the protection of the highest and other authorized Powers as regards their possessions like all other Residents of Holland, as a result it was entirely reasonable and necessary that they in this respect from now on would be ensured by a fair Act.
That, in order for this Act to be able to
Chapter 1 Page 4
(5)
contain, as much as possible, a general Cynosure in that respect, and for the mentioned case to be dealt with will all possible circumspection, the aforementioned Committee, prior to entering into Conferences with Booktraders (to which only a small number of the latter could be invited, and thus would not sufficiently demonstrate the general understanding of interests) have decided to request in Circulated Missives some Booksellers from all those Towns, in which there had been received Petitions by the provisional Representatives, and in particular to comply with the explicit order contained in the latter Decree of 29th June 1795, Chairman and Masters of the Booksellers' Guild in Leyden, as also according to the spirit of that Decree, apart from all those who had handed in the aforesaid Petitions to the Meeting of the Hon. Representatives in the name of various Book Traders or Sellers, not signed in good order, but had added some comments or specific advice, to express their opinions and considerations on the means, which, without the approving of the type of Privileges that existed under the old administration, would be suitable to confirm and ensure the property right to any Booktrader who publishes a Book at his own expense, as well as how to act with regard to the right that Bookstrader could argue to have from a made advertisement of intended publishing, of one Work or another, just as with regard to the right to translating or abridging of Works which have been published within this country, or abroad, and regarding the copying of the latter; while finally the mentioned Committee members were trying to learn from the Book traders whether there were, and if so, which, means that could be devised to restore the reprobate Book trade.
Then this Committee having received on those queries the considerations and answers from the majority of the Booktraders or Sellers to whom they had sent the aforesaid Circulated Missives,
Chapter 1 Page 5
(6)
except with regard to the restoration of the reprobate Book trade (about which no sufficient means were made available) and from some of them after they had consulted thereon with their Fellow Tradesmen, and from others, after they had called upon all their Guild confraternities, and finally from a few in their capacity of Chairman and Masters, and thus having been gathered by them the considerations of a very large number of Booksellers in this Province (whereby the necessity according to the letter of the aforesaid Decree of 29th June 1795 of oral conferences with some Booksellers was voided), they thus from the collective answers and notices, and furthermore the measures proposed therein on the above thought subjects, have drafted a provisional Decree, and have presented it together with a detailed report of their activities on 9th October 1795 at the Meeting of the aforesaid provisional Representatives, with the result that this Draft Decree has been approved and enacted on 25th November following.
That in the said provisional Decree has been provided that it would be printed and send to the Municipalities of Towns where there were located Booksellers, in order that the Municipalities would hand it to the Booksellers or Booksellers' Guilds, to serve them as information and example but that it would remain free to the collective Booksellers to, after having held conference among themselves, collectively within three months, send such further comments as they deem useful and necessary for the benefit of the Booktrade about the points contained in this provisional Decree to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring.
That meanwhile the comments and Consideration which, by force of the freedom granted in that Decree, thereafter have been handed in by some Book Traders
Chapter 1 Page 6
(7)
to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring, have limited itself to the 5th article of the aforesaid provisional Decree, containing in substance that, if a Bookseller has reprinted a work printed outside of this country, no one may reprint it again on penalty respectively laid down against it, yet under such provisions as also have been reported in more detail there, this has had the further result that the already mentioned Committee on 30th March of this year having handed in their report on account of their findings and regarding the alterations in the mentioned 5th Article to our Meeting, we, after the advice of the Provincial Committee had been requested and such had consequently been sent to us in advance, in our Decree also given on the aforementioned Day, in a further Dcree of 16th September last, have approved and understood with well thought out deliberation to lay down the proposed alterations in the 5th Article of the aforementioned Decree of 25th November 1795, as had been presented by the report of the erstwhile Committee of Commerce and Seafaring to the mentioned Meeting, and to decree the said 5th Article in the manner as will be mentioned hereafter.
SO IT IS, that we have decreed and laid down, as we hereby decree and lay down.
Art. 1.
That from now on there will be granted no Privileges or Patents for the Printing and publishing of any Books, or Parts, as opposing the now accepted fundamental principles, according to which each Citizen is entitled to the protection of his lawful property.
2.
That consequently, if any Book Seller in this Province publishes an original Work, whereof he has obtained the so-called Copyright, whether that work is issued in full, or in Volumes or Parts, Yearly, Monthly or Daily, he there-
Chapter 1 Page 7
(8)
by obtains the right for himself, his heirs, and assign, to publish that work in such a format, and in all such ways as he deems appropriate; as if this right is a property, on which no one has claim without his consent, or in which no one may damage him; as a result, it is being expressly prohibited to copy this Work within this Province, or were it to be copied elsewhere, to import and sell it; on penalty, incurred by the copier for the first time, of seizing of all the still available Copies, and the payment of the value or the sum of those already sold to be calculated according to the sales price, for the benefit of the owner of the work; but that, if anyone is guilty of copying for the second time, he will not only incur the above penalties, it will also be prohibited for him to practice the Book trade; furthermore, all who import and sell such copies in this Province, will have to pay a fine of five hundred guilders for the benefit as above, with the surrendering of the still available ones, and lastly be obligated to pay the value or the sum of the already sold Copies, to be imposed and paid to the latter according to the calculations as above.
3.
That, if an original work is sold out, and it is however persistently asked for, the owner will be obligated to reprint it -- or, if he chooses not to, will be held to transfer his copyright to another who will ask for it, on such conditions as they will devise among themselves; and if they cannot settle the matter amicably, it will be left to the arbitration and decision of two Booksellers, to be appointed, one each, by the parties, with the possibility to, in case of discrepancy, to call upon a third; And, furthermore, those who obtain the copyright
Chapter 1 Page 8
(9)
in that way, will be obligated to immediately order a new print and publication of the work in question.
4.
On penalty as is established against the copiers in the 2nd Article, it is expressly prohibited to each and everyone to cause to be printed an original work published in this country in another language, or publish an abridgment thereof, without the consent of the Owner; but with the proviso that if a Translation is proposed to the owner by another Booktrader, the owner will have the right to publish a translation in that language; and will be obligated, if he chooses not to, to allow another to do so, under such conditions as they will devise among themselves; and if it were to happen that they could not come to an agreement on the conditions among themselves, the decision on their dispute, at the expense of both, will be left to the judgment of Booksellers in the manner as has been provided in Art. 2; furthermore, if a Bookseller will obtain the right to a translation in that manner, he will be obligated to deliver that Translation as soon as possible.
op deze wyze verkrygen, verpligt zyn om dadelyk eene nieuwe druk van zodanig werk op te leggen, en in het licht te geven.
5.
That, if a Bookseller has reprinted a Work printed outside of this country, no one may reprint it again or sell that new reprint, or other reprints in this Province, on penalty as is laid down in the 2nd Art., provided that such bookseller has given due notice in advance of his intention to reprint the mentioned work in the newspapers: nevertheless, everyone will remain free to import and sell the original print or foreign reprints at his discretion.
That, however, in order that no foreign reprints, imported under the guise of original Prints, could give rise to disputes, the
Chapter 1 Page 9
(10)
Bookseller who undertakes a reprint will be obligated to, as soon as he publishes it, on penalty of otherwise having his rights revoked, to deliver a Copy of the original Print signed by his hand to the Booksellers' Guild of the town where he resides, or if there is no Guild there, to the Guild of one of the nearby towns, so that thus the foreign Copies, imported under the name of original Print, can always be compared with this original, and it can be decided on, in case there would arise a dispute on this, by Booktraders as Arbitrators in the manner as is provided above in Art. 3 and 4.
It is hereby furthermore expressly stated, in order that there will never be any doubt as to what one should understand by foreign Works or Works printed abroad, that all Works printed outside this country, even if it was at the expense of a Citizen of Holland or featuring the name of a Bookseller from Holland as Publisher on the Title page, will be held to be foreign Works or Works printed abroad.
6.
That, if a Bookseller publishes a Translation of a work printed abroad, in that case, hereby as well as on penalty against copiers as provided above in the 2nd Article, it is prohibited to anyone to reprint that Translation, or import and sell foreign reprints thereof: provided that the mentioned bookseller has given due notice of his intention to translate the work in question in the newspapers: but that everyone will nevertheless be free to not only import and sell the original Work, but also to cause to be printed and published translations thereof in other languages: yes even (but not unless with foreknowledge of the publisher of the first translation) to publish a different and better translation of the
Chapter 1 Page 10
(11)
same work in that same language: the disputes arising thereabouts will be left to the rulingof experts, to be appointed by the parties themselves, in the manner as is provided in the above Art. 3 and 4.
7.
That, if the bookseller has duly announced in the newspapers that he has the intention to publish, reprint, or cause to be translated a certain work, that announcement will give him the right of privilege to do so, above all others who have not given notice on the same intention, or would come to do one after him: provided however firstly that this Bookseller will hand the Chairman and Masters of the guild of his town of residence, or if there is no guild there, the Chairman and Masters of the guild in one of the towns nearby, the notice to be given signed with date. And that he will secondly be obligated to prove to the mentioned Chairman and Masters to their satisfaction three months after the notice given, that he possesses the original work of which he has advertised the reprinting or the translation, and is translating or reprinting, and makes all arrangements to honour that which he promised in his advertisement. -- In case of failure of that one or the other, his aforesaid right of privilege will be revoked.
The collective Booksellers in this Province, however, will remain free, in order to increase the ease and security of the above laid down, to devise such further arrangements among themselves as they deem appropriate, be it by some of the collective Booksellers of this Province, to that end to be qualified by them, be it by founding an Executive Board of the Book Trade; which Qualified persons or Executives, everyone whom it may concern, will then have to address on account of such cases.
8.
That, as all the set out provisions rely on a
Chapter 1 Page 11
(12)
vested property, these will be voided in case there is no such Property or Copyright: and thus are expressly excluded Bibles, Testaments, Psalm Books, and further Church and School Books, which have been imported by public authority, and which cannot be considered the private Property, or Copy of any private brother in the Guild, but all the mentioned Books, as also Calendars, Almanacs and the like, may be printed, translated, and published by any Bookseller: except for the time being those Almanacs and Calendars on which has been granted privilege or patent by the previous administration, and of which privilege or patent the term has not yet lapsed.
9.
That those State Documents which should be considered as a property of the People of Holland, and at their expense, will be printed in the State Printing House, and published for the benefit of the State Finances, without the consent of this Meeting, will not be reprinted and published except in such books which deal with the history of this country, or in collections of State Documents or in Codes and the like, on which all Booktraders have equal rights and powers.
Finally all Booktraders in this Province are most earnestly admonished to, each according to his ability, cooperate to ameliorate the reprobate Book trade, and to prevent all writings which serve not the enlightenment of the mind, enhancing of knowledge, betterment of the heart, cultivation of morality, animation of Religion and virtue, restore it to its full glory: meanwhile we will always regard it as a pleasant duty to provide hereto to the collective Booksellers all cooperation and assistance as will be compatible with a free and unimpeded Trade.
Chapter 1 Page 12
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We order each and everyone concerned to strictly act accordingly, and also the Procurator-General and all other Officials, in addition to all Municipalities and Justicial Bodies of this Province, to execute and observe the above laid down, as well as to bring, or have brought, proceedings against Infringers, in a manner that is deemed appropriate.
And so that noone could pretend to ignorance thereof, this will be published and put up everywhere where this customarily occurs.
Done in the Hague, under the small Seal of the Country, 8th December 1796. The second year of the Batavian Freedom.
SAMUEL van HOOGSTRAATEN, pres.
In his name,
C. SCHEFFER
Translation by: Miluska Kooij
Source: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KW Plakk Q 174 [16]
Citation:
Book Decree of the Province of Holland, The Hague (1796), 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
12 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
PUBLICATION,
ON THE
PRIVILEGES AND PATENTS,
AS WELL AS ON THE
RIGHT TO COPY AND PROPERTY
IN THE
BOOK TRADE.
LAID DOWN BY THE
PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION
OF
HOLLAND
8th December 1796.
THE SECOND YEAR OF THE BATAVIAN FREEDOM.
In The HAGUE, At the State Printing House of Holland: 1796.
Chapter 1 Page 2
(3)
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
PUBLICATION.
The PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION of HOLLAND, to all their Fellow Citizens, who will see or hear read this: Prosperity and Fraternity! Let it be known:
That not long after the latest turn of events, on the occasion of the request of a Booktrader residing in this Province, made to the then provisional Representatives of the People of Holland by Petition, in order to allow him being granted an exclusive Patent or privilege to print and publish certain Work, (on which he had obtained the so-called Copyright) to style, being suggested to the Hon. Meeting by some members in their midst whether such exclusive Patents should not be understood as in conflict with the Human rights, and whether furthermore ought not to be left to the Booksellers to make arrangements among themselves for the protection of everyone's due right, or it should be provided for in any other way, this has lead the aforementioned provisional representatives with the Decree of 27th February 1795, to hand over the aforesaid Petition, and the suggestion following, to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring, to which another two members of the aforesaid Meeting have joined as concerns the Book trade, in order to investigate it, and to report on their findings and considerations: While subsequently on the occasion of several additional petitions handed in by various booksellers about the repor-
Chapter 1 Page 3
(4)
ted topic, and all in substance to the effect to maintain the lawfully obtained property, the aforesaid appointed Commission, with the additional Decree of 29th June of that year, has been increased with another two members from among the already mentioned Meeting in order to jointly examine all these Petitions, as well as to enter into conference thereon with the booksellers from the respective Cities, and in particular with the Chairman and Masters of the Booksellers' Guild in Leyden, and give a final report thereafter on that finding and process.
That the aforementioned Committee members rightfully have considered that on the one hand, exclusive Patents or Privileges, which had been in use untill that time, had the objective to conditionally and privately guarantee the property of Booksellers on the Books, Works, or Writings which thus were published, from which seemingly would follow that any Bookseller would not have an equal right to other Works, of which he had obtained the Copyright, but which had been published by him without such a Patent, and that therefore such so-called Privileges should in practice should be considered as objectionable or undue, and in the current state of affairs can no longer be approved of, but that however on the other hand, the property on any Books, Works or Writings, having been lawfully obtained by the respective Booktraders or Sellers should be protected; and considering they in that respect have lawful claim to the protection of the highest and other authorized Powers as regards their possessions like all other Residents of Holland, as a result it was entirely reasonable and necessary that they in this respect from now on would be ensured by a fair Act.
That, in order for this Act to be able to
Chapter 1 Page 4
(5)
contain, as much as possible, a general Cynosure in that respect, and for the mentioned case to be dealt with will all possible circumspection, the aforementioned Committee, prior to entering into Conferences with Booktraders (to which only a small number of the latter could be invited, and thus would not sufficiently demonstrate the general understanding of interests) have decided to request in Circulated Missives some Booksellers from all those Towns, in which there had been received Petitions by the provisional Representatives, and in particular to comply with the explicit order contained in the latter Decree of 29th June 1795, Chairman and Masters of the Booksellers' Guild in Leyden, as also according to the spirit of that Decree, apart from all those who had handed in the aforesaid Petitions to the Meeting of the Hon. Representatives in the name of various Book Traders or Sellers, not signed in good order, but had added some comments or specific advice, to express their opinions and considerations on the means, which, without the approving of the type of Privileges that existed under the old administration, would be suitable to confirm and ensure the property right to any Booktrader who publishes a Book at his own expense, as well as how to act with regard to the right that Bookstrader could argue to have from a made advertisement of intended publishing, of one Work or another, just as with regard to the right to translating or abridging of Works which have been published within this country, or abroad, and regarding the copying of the latter; while finally the mentioned Committee members were trying to learn from the Book traders whether there were, and if so, which, means that could be devised to restore the reprobate Book trade.
Then this Committee having received on those queries the considerations and answers from the majority of the Booktraders or Sellers to whom they had sent the aforesaid Circulated Missives,
Chapter 1 Page 5
(6)
except with regard to the restoration of the reprobate Book trade (about which no sufficient means were made available) and from some of them after they had consulted thereon with their Fellow Tradesmen, and from others, after they had called upon all their Guild confraternities, and finally from a few in their capacity of Chairman and Masters, and thus having been gathered by them the considerations of a very large number of Booksellers in this Province (whereby the necessity according to the letter of the aforesaid Decree of 29th June 1795 of oral conferences with some Booksellers was voided), they thus from the collective answers and notices, and furthermore the measures proposed therein on the above thought subjects, have drafted a provisional Decree, and have presented it together with a detailed report of their activities on 9th October 1795 at the Meeting of the aforesaid provisional Representatives, with the result that this Draft Decree has been approved and enacted on 25th November following.
That in the said provisional Decree has been provided that it would be printed and send to the Municipalities of Towns where there were located Booksellers, in order that the Municipalities would hand it to the Booksellers or Booksellers' Guilds, to serve them as information and example but that it would remain free to the collective Booksellers to, after having held conference among themselves, collectively within three months, send such further comments as they deem useful and necessary for the benefit of the Booktrade about the points contained in this provisional Decree to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring.
That meanwhile the comments and Consideration which, by force of the freedom granted in that Decree, thereafter have been handed in by some Book Traders
Chapter 1 Page 6
(7)
to the then Committee of Commerce and Seafaring, have limited itself to the 5th article of the aforesaid provisional Decree, containing in substance that, if a Bookseller has reprinted a work printed outside of this country, no one may reprint it again on penalty respectively laid down against it, yet under such provisions as also have been reported in more detail there, this has had the further result that the already mentioned Committee on 30th March of this year having handed in their report on account of their findings and regarding the alterations in the mentioned 5th Article to our Meeting, we, after the advice of the Provincial Committee had been requested and such had consequently been sent to us in advance, in our Decree also given on the aforementioned Day, in a further Dcree of 16th September last, have approved and understood with well thought out deliberation to lay down the proposed alterations in the 5th Article of the aforementioned Decree of 25th November 1795, as had been presented by the report of the erstwhile Committee of Commerce and Seafaring to the mentioned Meeting, and to decree the said 5th Article in the manner as will be mentioned hereafter.
SO IT IS, that we have decreed and laid down, as we hereby decree and lay down.
Art. 1.
That from now on there will be granted no Privileges or Patents for the Printing and publishing of any Books, or Parts, as opposing the now accepted fundamental principles, according to which each Citizen is entitled to the protection of his lawful property.
2.
That consequently, if any Book Seller in this Province publishes an original Work, whereof he has obtained the so-called Copyright, whether that work is issued in full, or in Volumes or Parts, Yearly, Monthly or Daily, he there-
Chapter 1 Page 7
(8)
by obtains the right for himself, his heirs, and assign, to publish that work in such a format, and in all such ways as he deems appropriate; as if this right is a property, on which no one has claim without his consent, or in which no one may damage him; as a result, it is being expressly prohibited to copy this Work within this Province, or were it to be copied elsewhere, to import and sell it; on penalty, incurred by the copier for the first time, of seizing of all the still available Copies, and the payment of the value or the sum of those already sold to be calculated according to the sales price, for the benefit of the owner of the work; but that, if anyone is guilty of copying for the second time, he will not only incur the above penalties, it will also be prohibited for him to practice the Book trade; furthermore, all who import and sell such copies in this Province, will have to pay a fine of five hundred guilders for the benefit as above, with the surrendering of the still available ones, and lastly be obligated to pay the value or the sum of the already sold Copies, to be imposed and paid to the latter according to the calculations as above.
3.
That, if an original work is sold out, and it is however persistently asked for, the owner will be obligated to reprint it -- or, if he chooses not to, will be held to transfer his copyright to another who will ask for it, on such conditions as they will devise among themselves; and if they cannot settle the matter amicably, it will be left to the arbitration and decision of two Booksellers, to be appointed, one each, by the parties, with the possibility to, in case of discrepancy, to call upon a third; And, furthermore, those who obtain the copyright
Chapter 1 Page 8
(9)
in that way, will be obligated to immediately order a new print and publication of the work in question.
4.
On penalty as is established against the copiers in the 2nd Article, it is expressly prohibited to each and everyone to cause to be printed an original work published in this country in another language, or publish an abridgment thereof, without the consent of the Owner; but with the proviso that if a Translation is proposed to the owner by another Booktrader, the owner will have the right to publish a translation in that language; and will be obligated, if he chooses not to, to allow another to do so, under such conditions as they will devise among themselves; and if it were to happen that they could not come to an agreement on the conditions among themselves, the decision on their dispute, at the expense of both, will be left to the judgment of Booksellers in the manner as has been provided in Art. 2; furthermore, if a Bookseller will obtain the right to a translation in that manner, he will be obligated to deliver that Translation as soon as possible.
op deze wyze verkrygen, verpligt zyn om dadelyk eene nieuwe druk van zodanig werk op te leggen, en in het licht te geven.
5.
That, if a Bookseller has reprinted a Work printed outside of this country, no one may reprint it again or sell that new reprint, or other reprints in this Province, on penalty as is laid down in the 2nd Art., provided that such bookseller has given due notice in advance of his intention to reprint the mentioned work in the newspapers: nevertheless, everyone will remain free to import and sell the original print or foreign reprints at his discretion.
That, however, in order that no foreign reprints, imported under the guise of original Prints, could give rise to disputes, the
Chapter 1 Page 9
(10)
Bookseller who undertakes a reprint will be obligated to, as soon as he publishes it, on penalty of otherwise having his rights revoked, to deliver a Copy of the original Print signed by his hand to the Booksellers' Guild of the town where he resides, or if there is no Guild there, to the Guild of one of the nearby towns, so that thus the foreign Copies, imported under the name of original Print, can always be compared with this original, and it can be decided on, in case there would arise a dispute on this, by Booktraders as Arbitrators in the manner as is provided above in Art. 3 and 4.
It is hereby furthermore expressly stated, in order that there will never be any doubt as to what one should understand by foreign Works or Works printed abroad, that all Works printed outside this country, even if it was at the expense of a Citizen of Holland or featuring the name of a Bookseller from Holland as Publisher on the Title page, will be held to be foreign Works or Works printed abroad.
6.
That, if a Bookseller publishes a Translation of a work printed abroad, in that case, hereby as well as on penalty against copiers as provided above in the 2nd Article, it is prohibited to anyone to reprint that Translation, or import and sell foreign reprints thereof: provided that the mentioned bookseller has given due notice of his intention to translate the work in question in the newspapers: but that everyone will nevertheless be free to not only import and sell the original Work, but also to cause to be printed and published translations thereof in other languages: yes even (but not unless with foreknowledge of the publisher of the first translation) to publish a different and better translation of the
Chapter 1 Page 10
(11)
same work in that same language: the disputes arising thereabouts will be left to the rulingof experts, to be appointed by the parties themselves, in the manner as is provided in the above Art. 3 and 4.
7.
That, if the bookseller has duly announced in the newspapers that he has the intention to publish, reprint, or cause to be translated a certain work, that announcement will give him the right of privilege to do so, above all others who have not given notice on the same intention, or would come to do one after him: provided however firstly that this Bookseller will hand the Chairman and Masters of the guild of his town of residence, or if there is no guild there, the Chairman and Masters of the guild in one of the towns nearby, the notice to be given signed with date. And that he will secondly be obligated to prove to the mentioned Chairman and Masters to their satisfaction three months after the notice given, that he possesses the original work of which he has advertised the reprinting or the translation, and is translating or reprinting, and makes all arrangements to honour that which he promised in his advertisement. -- In case of failure of that one or the other, his aforesaid right of privilege will be revoked.
The collective Booksellers in this Province, however, will remain free, in order to increase the ease and security of the above laid down, to devise such further arrangements among themselves as they deem appropriate, be it by some of the collective Booksellers of this Province, to that end to be qualified by them, be it by founding an Executive Board of the Book Trade; which Qualified persons or Executives, everyone whom it may concern, will then have to address on account of such cases.
8.
That, as all the set out provisions rely on a
Chapter 1 Page 11
(12)
vested property, these will be voided in case there is no such Property or Copyright: and thus are expressly excluded Bibles, Testaments, Psalm Books, and further Church and School Books, which have been imported by public authority, and which cannot be considered the private Property, or Copy of any private brother in the Guild, but all the mentioned Books, as also Calendars, Almanacs and the like, may be printed, translated, and published by any Bookseller: except for the time being those Almanacs and Calendars on which has been granted privilege or patent by the previous administration, and of which privilege or patent the term has not yet lapsed.
9.
That those State Documents which should be considered as a property of the People of Holland, and at their expense, will be printed in the State Printing House, and published for the benefit of the State Finances, without the consent of this Meeting, will not be reprinted and published except in such books which deal with the history of this country, or in collections of State Documents or in Codes and the like, on which all Booktraders have equal rights and powers.
Finally all Booktraders in this Province are most earnestly admonished to, each according to his ability, cooperate to ameliorate the reprobate Book trade, and to prevent all writings which serve not the enlightenment of the mind, enhancing of knowledge, betterment of the heart, cultivation of morality, animation of Religion and virtue, restore it to its full glory: meanwhile we will always regard it as a pleasant duty to provide hereto to the collective Booksellers all cooperation and assistance as will be compatible with a free and unimpeded Trade.
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We order each and everyone concerned to strictly act accordingly, and also the Procurator-General and all other Officials, in addition to all Municipalities and Justicial Bodies of this Province, to execute and observe the above laid down, as well as to bring, or have brought, proceedings against Infringers, in a manner that is deemed appropriate.
And so that noone could pretend to ignorance thereof, this will be published and put up everywhere where this customarily occurs.
Done in the Hague, under the small Seal of the Country, 8th December 1796. The second year of the Batavian Freedom.
SAMUEL van HOOGSTRAATEN, pres.
In his name,
C. SCHEFFER
Translation by: Miluska Kooij