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Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books, Kreuznach (1799)
Source: Scanned from a reprint edition (edited by Reinhard Wittmann, München 1981) taken from an the copy held in Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln
Citation:
Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books, Kreuznach (1799), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
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(5)
For reprinting leads to the
dissemination of good books which are
beneficial to the whole community, and,
as a result, the less affluent members
of the public are given the opportunity
to satisfy their thirst for literature
at as low a cost to themselves as
possible. Consequently, no useful book
will ever again be lost to the wider
public, and those that have already been
forgotten will be rescued from the
obscurity in which they had been shrouded.
It would be superfluous to give examples,
since countless instances of this are
already widely known.
Besides, the public - most certainly
a very important judge - has long ago
decided in favour of reprinting, and every
'Reichsbuchhändler'* will have observed
how most of his clients will not buy an
original edition of a book, if a reprint
of it is already available.
Before I come to answer the question
as to whether reprinting in itself is a
legitimate action, and whether it really
does infringe on another's property, I should
first like to provide a brief explanation
of the word 'Nettobuchhändler'**, since I will
have to use it a number of times in what
follows.
______
* lit. 'a bookseller from regions of the
Empire' [other than Leipzig and, generally
speaking, northern Germany]. This term was
used to refer to the mainly south German
barter-trading publishers and booksellers
who tried to oppose the reforms of the
book trade initiated by Philipp Erasmus
Reichs and other fellow publishers from
the north.
** 'Nettobuchhändler' were those publishers and
booksellers, led by the Leipzig-based Philipp
Erasmus Reich, who in the second half of the
18th c. went over from the traditional barter
system of book trading to demanding cash
payments ('Nettopreis' = 'net price') from
the retailers who wished to acquire their
publications. See the commentary for d_1799.
No Transcription available.
Source: Scanned from a reprint edition (edited by Reinhard Wittmann, München 1981) taken from an the copy held in Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln
Citation:
Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books, Kreuznach (1799), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org
Back | Record | Images | Commentaries: [1]
Translation only | Transcription only | Show all | Bundled images as pdf
(5)
For reprinting leads to the
dissemination of good books which are
beneficial to the whole community, and,
as a result, the less affluent members
of the public are given the opportunity
to satisfy their thirst for literature
at as low a cost to themselves as
possible. Consequently, no useful book
will ever again be lost to the wider
public, and those that have already been
forgotten will be rescued from the
obscurity in which they had been shrouded.
It would be superfluous to give examples,
since countless instances of this are
already widely known.
Besides, the public - most certainly
a very important judge - has long ago
decided in favour of reprinting, and every
'Reichsbuchhändler'* will have observed
how most of his clients will not buy an
original edition of a book, if a reprint
of it is already available.
Before I come to answer the question
as to whether reprinting in itself is a
legitimate action, and whether it really
does infringe on another's property, I should
first like to provide a brief explanation
of the word 'Nettobuchhändler'**, since I will
have to use it a number of times in what
follows.
______
* lit. 'a bookseller from regions of the
Empire' [other than Leipzig and, generally
speaking, northern Germany]. This term was
used to refer to the mainly south German
barter-trading publishers and booksellers
who tried to oppose the reforms of the
book trade initiated by Philipp Erasmus
Reichs and other fellow publishers from
the north.
** 'Nettobuchhändler' were those publishers and
booksellers, led by the Leipzig-based Philipp
Erasmus Reich, who in the second half of the
18th c. went over from the traditional barter
system of book trading to demanding cash
payments ('Nettopreis' = 'net price') from
the retailers who wished to acquire their
publications. See the commentary for d_1799.
No Transcription available.