Law regarding property rights in writing;

Given Stockholm’s castle August 10^th 1877.

We OSCAR, by the grace of God, King of Sweden, Norway, Götes and Vendes, make known what We, with the Parliament, have found good to decree, as follows:

Chapter 1.

Protection against reprint.

1 §.

Authors shall have the right, to the exclusion of others, to have their writings reproduced in print, whether they have been previously published or exist only in manuscript.

For the purposes of this Act, the term "writing" shall also include a musical work accompanied by sheet music or other manuscripts, as well as a scientific drawing, a map of land or sea, a drawing of a building or any other such drawing or illustration which, by virtue of its principal purpose, is not to be regarded as a work of art.

2 §.

The right granted to an author under section 1 shall include the right to have his work reproduced in print in translation from one language into another, to the exclusion of others. Swedish, Norwegian and Danish shall in this respect be regarded as different dialects of the same language.

3 §.

A work which an author has published simultaneously in different languages indicated on the title page shall be deemed to have been written in each of these languages.

4 §.

A person who translates a text into another language shall have the author’s right referred to in Section 1 for his translation, unless he is prohibited by this Act from publishing the translation in print, and shall not be entitled to make a translation of the same text with the same right.

5 §.

The publisher of a periodical publication, as well as of a publication consisting of independent contributions by separate contributors, shall be considered the author of the publication, but without the right to publish separately the contribution made to such publication. After one year has elapsed from the publication of the contribution, its author shall not be prevented from publishing it himself.

6 §.

The author may transfer the aforementioned right to one or more persons, with or without conditions or restrictions. If the author fails to do so, the right shall pass to his legal successor upon his death.

A person who has received the right to publish a book by assignment may not, without the express consent of the author, publish more than one edition, and this edition may not exceed one thousand copies.

7 §.

The author's rights shall be valid during his lifetime and for fifty years after his death. If two or more persons have jointly authored a work which does not consist of independent contributions by different collaborators, these fifty years shall be counted from the death of the last deceased author.

8 §.

Writings published by a scientific society or other association which excludes personal rights of authorship, as well as writings published after the death of the author, shall be protected against reprinting for fifty years from the date of first publication. The same law shall apply to writings by authors without a stated name or under a fictitious name; however, if the author makes himself known before the end

of the fiftieth year from the date of the first publication of the work, either on the title page of a new edition or by notification to the Ministry of Justice and an announcement published three times in general newspapers, he may then benefit from the right referred to in section 7.

9 §.

If a publication appears in several parts which are connected with each other, the period of protection referred to in § 8 shall be calculated from the year in which the last part was published. If a part is published more than three years after the immediately preceding part, the period of protection for the older of these parts, as well as for earlier parts, shall be calculated from the year in which the last of the older parts was published.

10 §.

Unless otherwise provided in the Ordinance on the Freedom of the Press or in this Act, it shall be prohibited to reprint another person's writing in whole or in part without the permission of the person concerned, as long as the prescribed period of protection has not expired. Reprinting is not lawful because minor changes, abbreviations or additions have been made.

It shall also be deemed to be reprinting if a translation of another person's unprinted text is published without permission, or if a translation is published in contravention of § 2, or if the publisher or the person to whom he has transferred the right to print the text prints the text in contravention of the publishing agreement.

11 §.

The prohibition of reprinting shall not prevent the use of a printed text in the preparation of a new, essentially independent work by quoting, verbatim or in summary form, parts of it which are cited as evidence or taken up for the purpose of examination, clarification or further processing.

The inclusion of parts of a printed text, or of the whole text if it is small, in a collection of several works intended for use in divine worship or in the elementary teaching of reading, music or drawing, or for the presentation of history, or the printing of words as text in a musical work, shall not be regarded as reprinting.

When other writings are so used, the author shall be named, provided that his name appears on the [original] writing.

12 §.

Nor shall it be considered a reprint to include in a periodical publication an essay taken from another such publication, but the title of the [original] publication used shall be given. However, scientific treatises and white papers, as well as other essays, if they are more extensive, may not be included if a reservation against reprinting has been made at the beginning.

Chapter 2.

On the Use of Writings for the Theatre.

13 §.

No dramatic or musical-dramatic work may be performed in public without the consent of the author or the person who holds the author's rights under this Act; however, the public performance of such a work shall be permitted if it is performed without theatrical equipment.

Unless otherwise agreed, the consent referred to above shall entitle the person who has received it to perform the work as often as he thinks fit, but shall not entitle him to transfer the right thereto to another person.

Unless otherwise agreed, the owner of the work is not obliged to grant such consent to others. If the owner has given someone the exclusive right to construct the work, but he has not used it for five consecutive years, the owner is not prevented from giving consent to others.

14 §.

The author's or translator's right referred to in this Chapter shall apply during his lifetime and for five years after his death. If the author or translator has not made himself known, anyone may produce the same work after five years have elapsed since the work was first produced or published in print.

Chapter 3.

Penalties for violation of this Act.

15 §.

Anyone found guilty of reprinting shall be fined between twenty and one thousand crowns. In addition, he shall forfeit the edition to the defendant and reimburse him for the value of the copies not retained, calculated on the basis of the bookstore price for copies of the last published legal edition. If a work is unlawful only in respect of a particular part of the whole, the provisions of this section shall apply only to that part.

Any person who, in contravention of this Act, performs or causes to be performed a dramatic or musical-dramatic work shall be liable as aforesaid and shall pay to the plaintiff by way of damages the whole of the amount received at the time, without deduction of expenses or of any part of the proceeds which may be attributable to other works performed at the same time.

If the foregoing grounds for calculating damages for reprints or performances of dramatic or musical-dramatic works cannot be complied with, the damages shall be determined on such other grounds as are deemed reasonable. The minimum amount of damages shall be fifty crowns.

16 §.

All materials used exclusively for the unlawful printing of a text, such as stereotype and other plates and forms, as well as copies made for the unlawful performance of dramatic or musical-dramatic works, shall be confiscated; and unless the parties agree otherwise, the confiscated materials shall be handled in such a way that they cannot be misused.

17 §.

Failure to indicate the name of an author or the title of a periodical as provided for in Sections 11 and 12 shall be punishable by a fine of up to one hundred kronor.

18 §.

The provisions of this Act concerning penalties, damages and loss of property shall apply mutatis mutandis to any person who, knowing the illegality of a work, offers it for sale or introduces it for sale in the country.

Chapter 4.

General provisions.

19 §.

This Act shall apply to writings by Swedish citizens; and writings published by a Swedish publisher without a title or under a dictated author's name shall be deemed to have been written by a Swedish citizen, unless the contrary is proved. The provisions of the Act may, subject to reciprocity, be declared by the King to apply in whole or in part to the writings of citizens of other countries.

20 §.

If a work is owned by more than one person, the consent required for its lawful printing or public performance shall be given by each of them; in the case of a musical-dramatic work, however, it shall be sufficient, if the text constitutes the principal part, for the author to give his consent and, in the opposite case, for the composer to give his consent.

21 §.

In the application of the time provisions in Sections 5, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14, the calendar year in which the circumstance in respect of which the provision is made occurred shall not be taken into account.

22 §.

The author's right provided for in this Act in respect of unprinted writings in the possession of the author, his widow or his heirs may not be set off against debts or transferred to creditors in the event of bankruptcy.

23 §.

An offence against this Act may not be prosecuted by anyone other than the plaintiff.

24 §.

The Ordinances of 20 July 1855 concerning the prohibition of the public performance of dramatic or musical works written for the stage without the author's permission and of 20 March 1876 concerning the right of ownership of writings are hereby repealed; this Act shall apply to works already published; however, the period of protection provided for in Section 7 for writings whose author died before the date on which this Act comes into force shall be calculated from that date, and this Act shall not otherwise restrict the rights acquired under the earlier Act. Nor shall the provisions of Chapter 2 of this Act apply to dramatic or musical-dramatic works that were publicly performed before the decree of 20 July 1855 entered into force.

Anyone to whom it applies is obliged to abide by it. We have also signed this document with our own hands and affixed our royal seal. Stockholm Castle, 10 August 1877.

OSCAR.

(L.S.)

Louis De Geer.