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6 transcripted pages

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Whereas printers Booksellers and
other persons have of late frequently taken the
liberty of printing reprinting and publishing
or causing to be printed reprinted and published
Books and other writings without the consent
of the authors or proprietors of such books
and writings to their very great detriment and
too often to the Ruin of them and their families
For preventing therefore such practices for
the future and for the encouragement of learned
men to compose and write useful books May
it please Your Majestie that it may
be enacted And be it Enacted by the Queens
Most Excellent Majestie by and with the advice
and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal
and Commons in this present Parliament assembled
and by the authority of the same That from and
after the tenth day of April One
thousand seven hundred and ten the Author of
any Book or books already printed who hath not
transferred to any other the copy or copies of such
Book or Books share or shares thereof or the
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers
or other person or persons who hath or have
purchased or acquired the copy or copies of any
Book or Books in order to print or reprint the
same shall have the sole right and liberty of
printing such Book and Books for the term of
One and twenty years to commence from the said
tenth day of April and no longer
And that the Author of any Book or Books
already composed and not printed and published
or that shall hereafter be composed and his assignee
or assignes shall have the sole liberty of printing
and reprinting such Book and Books for the term
of fourteen years to commence from the day of the
first publishing the same, and no longer And
that if any other Bookseller printer or other person
whatsoever from and after the tenth
day of April One thousand seven hundred and
ten within the times granted and limited by this Act
as aforesaid shall print reprint or import or cause
to be printed reprinted or imported any such Book
or Books without the consent of the proprietor or
proprietors thereof first had and obtained in writing
signed in the presence of two or more credible
witnesses or knowing the same to be so printed or
reprinted without the consent of the proprietors
shall sell publish or expose to sale or cause to be
sold published or exposed to sale any such Book
or Books without such consent first had and
obtained as aforesaid Then such offender or offenders
shall forfeit such Book or Books and all and every
sheet or sheets being part of such Book or
Books to the proprietor or proprietors of the
copy thereof who shall forthwith damask and

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obtained as aforesaid Then such offender or offenders
shall forfeit such Book or Books and all and every
sheet or sheets being part of such Book or
Books to the proprietor or proprietors of the
copy thereof who shall forthwith damask and
make wast paper of them And further that
every such offender or offenders shall forfeit one
penny for every sheet which shall be found in
his her or their custody either printed or printing
published or exposed to sale contrary to the true
intent and meaning of this Act, the one Moiety
thereof to the Queens Most Excellent Majestie
her heirs and successors and the other Moiety
thereof to any person or persons that shall sue
for the same to be recovered in any of Her Majesties
Courts of Record at Westminster by action of Debt
bill plaint or information in which no wager
of Law Essoigne privilege or protection or more
than one imparlance shall be allowed And
whereas many persons may through ignorance
offend against this Act unless some provision be
made whereby the property in every such book
as is intended by this Act to be secured to the
proprietor or proprietors thereof may be
ascertained as likewise the consent of such
proprietor or proprietors for the printing or
reprinting of such book or books may from
time to time be known Be it therefore
further Enacted by the authority
aforesaid That nothing in this Act contained
shall be construed to extend to subject any Bookseller
printer or other person whatsoever to the forfeitures
or penalties therein mentioned for or by reason of
the printing or reprinting of any book or books
without such consent as aforesaid unless the Title
to the Copy of such book or books hereafter published
shall before such publication be entered in the Register
Book of the Company of Stationers in such manner
as hath been usual which Register Book shall
at all times be kept at the Hall of the said Company
And unless such consent of the proprietor or
proprietors be in like manner entered as aforesaid
for every of which several entries sixpence shall
be paid and no more Which said Register Book
may at all reasonable and convenient times be
Resorted to and inspected by any Bookseller
printer or other person for the purposes before
mentioned, without any fee or Reward And
the Clerk of the said Company of Stationers shall
when and as often as thereunto required give a
Certificate under his hand of such entry or entrys
and for every such Certificate may take a fee not
exceeding six pence Provided nevertheless
that if the Clerk of the said Company of Stationers
for the time being shall refuse or neglect to Register
or make such entry or entries or to give such certificate
being thereunto required by the author or proprietor
of such Copy or Copyes in the presence of two or more
credible witnesses That then such person and persons
so refusing notice being first duly given of such
refusal by an advertisement in the Gazette shall
have the like benefit as if such Entry or Entryes
Certificate or Certificates had been duly made and
given And that the clerks so refusing shall for
any such offence forfeit to the proprietor of such
Copy or Copyes the sum of Twenty pounds to
be recovered in any of her Majesties Courts of
Record at Westminster by Action of Debt Bill
plaint or information in which no wager of Law
Essoigne privilege or protection or more than one imparlance shall be allowed Provided neverthe

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Record at Westminster by Action of Debt Bill
plaint or information in which no wager of Law
Essoigne privilege or protection or more than one
imparlance shall be allowed Provided neverthe
less and it is hereby further Enacted by the
authority aforesaid That if any Bookseller or
Booksellers printer or printers shall after the said
Five and twentieth day of March One thousand
Seven hundred and ten set a price upon or sell
or expose to sale any Book or Books at such a
price or rate as shall be conceived by any person or
persons to be too high and unreasonable It shall
and may be Lawful for any person or persons to make
Complaint thereof to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury
for the time being the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper
of the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being
the Lord Bishop of London for the time being the Lord
Cheife Justice of the Court of Queens Bench the Lord Cheife
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas the Lord Cheife Baron
of the Court of Exchequer for the time being the
Vice-Chancellors of the two Universities for the
time being in that part of Great Britain called England
the Lord President of the Sessions for the time being
the Lord Justice General for the time being the Lord
Cheife Baron of the Exchequer for the time being the
Rector of the College of Edinburgh for the time being in
that part of Great Britain called Scotland who or
any one of them shall and have hereby full power
and authority from time to time to send for summon
or call before him or them such Bookseller or
Booksellers printer or printers and to Examine and
Enquire of the reason of the dearness and enhancement
of the price or value of such book or books by him
or them so sold or exposed to sale And if upon such
enquiry and Examination it shall be found That the
price of such book or books is inhanced or any
wise to high or unreasonable Then and in such case
the said Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Chancellor
or Lord Keeper Bishop of London two Cheife Justices
Cheife Baron Vice Chancellors of the Universities
in that part of Great Britain called England And
the said Lord President of the Sessions Lord Justice
General Lord Cheife Baron and Rector of the College of
Edinburgh in that part of Great Britain called
Scotland or any one or more of them so enquiring
and examining have hereby full power and authority
to reform and redress the same and to limit and settle
the price of every such printed book and books
from time to time according to the best of their
judgments and as to them shall seem just and
reasonable And in case of alteration of the rate or
price from what was set or demanded by such
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers to
Award and order such Bookseller or Booksellers
printer or printers to pay all the costs and charges
that the person or persons so complaining shall be
put unto by reason of such complaint and of the
causing such rate or price to be so limited and settled
All which shall be done by the said Archbishop of
Canterbury Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper Bishop of
London two Cheife Justices Cheife Baron Vice Chancellors
of the two Universities in that part of Great Britain
called England and the said Lord President of the Sessions
Lord Justice General Lord Cheife Baron and Rector
of the College of Edinburgh in that part of Great
Britain called Scotland or any one of them by
writing under their hands and seals And thereof
publick notice shall be forthwith given by the said
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers by
an Advertisement in the Gazette And if any
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers
shall after such settlement made of the said rate

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of the two Universities in that part of Great Britain
called England and the said Lord President of the Sessions
Lord Justice General Lord Cheife Baron and Rector
of the College of Edinburgh in that part of Great
Britain called Scotland or any one of them by
writing under their hands and seals And thereof
publick notice shall be forthwith given by the said
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers by
an Advertisement in the Gazette And if any
Bookseller or Booksellers printer or printers
shall after such settlement made of the said rate
and price sell or expose to sale any Book or Books
at a higher or greater price than what shall have
been so Limited and settled as aforesaid Then and
in every such case such Bookseller and Booksellers
printer or printers, shall forfeit the sum of
five pounds for every such book so by him her or
them sold or exposed to sale One moiety thereof
to the queens Most Excellent Majesty her heirs
and successors and the other moiety to any person
or persons that shall sue for the same to be recovered
with costs of suit, in any of her Majesties Courts
of Record at Westminster by Action of Debt Bill
plaint or information in which no wager of Law
Essoigne privilege or protection or more than
One imparlance shall be allowed Provided
always and it is hereby Enacted that nine Copyes
of each book or books upon the best paper that
from and after the tenth day
of April One thousand seven hundred and ten
shall be printed and published as aforesaid or
Reprinted and published with additions
shall by the printer and printers thereof be delivered
to the Warehouse Keeper of the said Company of
Stationers for the time being at the hall of the
said Company before such publication made for
the use of the Royal Library the Libraryes of the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge the Librarys
of the four Universities in Scotland the
Library of Sion College in London and the Library
commonly called the Library
belonging to the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh
respectively Which said Warehousekeeper is
hereby required within ten days after demand
by the Keepers of the respective libraryes or any
person or persons by them or any of them authorised
to demand the said Copy to deliver the same for the use
of the aforesaid Libraryes And if any proprietor Book-
seller or printer or the Warehousekeeper
of the said Company of Stationers shall not
Observe the direction of this Act therein That then
he and they so making default in not delivering the said
printed Copies as aforesaid shall forfeit besides the
value of the said printed Copies the sum of five
pounds for every Copy not so delivered As also the
value of the said printed copy not so delivered
the same to be Recovered by the Queens Majestie
her heirs and successors And by the Chancellour
Masters and Scholars of any of the said
Universities And by the President and Fellows of Sion
College and the said Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh
with their full costs respectively Provided
always and be it further enacted that if any person
or persons incur the penalties contained in this
Act in that part of Great Britain called Scotland
they shall be recoverable by any Action before the
Court of Session there Provided that nothing in this
Act contained do Extend or shall be construed to
extend to prohibit the importation vending or
selling of any Books in Greek Latin or any other
foreign language printed beyond the seas any thing in
this Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding
And be it further Enacted by the authority
aforesaid that if any Action or Suit shall be

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hereby required within ten days after demand
by the Keepers of the respective libraryes or any
person or persons by them or any of them authorised
to demand the said Copy to deliver the same for the use
of the aforesaid Libraryes And if any proprietor Book-
seller or printer or the Warehousekeeper
of the said Company of Stationers shall not
Observe the direction of this Act therein That then
he and they so making default in not delivering the said
printed Copies as aforesaid shall forfeit besides the
value of the said printed Copies the sum of five
pounds for every Copy not so delivered As also the
value of the said printed copy not so delivered
the same to be Recovered by the Queens Majestie
her heirs and successors And by the Chancellour
Masters and Scholars of any of the said
Universities And by the President and Fellows of Sion
College and the said Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh
with their full costs respectively Provided
always and be it further enacted that if any person
or persons incur the penalties contained in this
Act in that part of Great Britain called Scotland
they shall be recoverable by any Action before the
Court of Session there Provided that nothing in this Act
contained do Extend or shall be construed to extend
to prohibit the importation vending or selling of any
Books in Greek Latin or any other foreign language
printed beyond the seas any thing in
this Act contained to the contrary notwithstanding
And be it further Enacted by the authority
aforesaid that if any Action or Suit shall be
commenced or brought against any person or
persons whatsoever for doing or causing to be done
any thing in pursuance of this Act the defendants
in such action may plead the General Issue and
give the special matter in evidence And if upon such
Action a verdict be given for the defendant or the
plaintiff become nonsuited or Discontinue his action
then the defendant shall have and recover his full
costs for which he shall have the same remedy as a
Defendant in any Case by Law hath Provided
that nothing in this Act contained shall Extend or
be construed to extend either to prejudice or confirm
any right that the said Universityes or any
of them or any person or persons have or claim
to have to the printing or reprinting any book
or copy already printed or hereafter to be printed
Provided nevertheless that all Actions Suits
Bills indictments or Informations for any offence
that shall be committed against this Act shall be
brought sued and commenced within three months
next after such offence committed or else the same
shall be void and of none effect

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Provided always that after the expiration of the
said term of fourteen years the sole right of printing
or disposing of copies shall return to the Authors
thereof if they are then living for another Term of
fourteen years



Transcription by: Kate Brookson-Morris