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Saxon Copyright Act, Dresden (1844)
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte Frankfurt / Main Dt 9 Ak 9
Citation:
Saxon Copyright Act, Dresden (1844), 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
12 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
Journal of Statutes
and
Decrees
for the
Kingdom of Saxony
in the year 1844
_________________
Parts 1-21
_________________
With a most gracious Royal Saxon privilege
__________________________
Dresden
Printed and available at C. C. Meinhold and Sons, printers to the court
Chapter 1 Page 2
Nr 6DECREE.
Concerning the enactment of the hereinstated law;
(promulgated on 22 February 1844)
We, Frederick Augustus, by the Grace of God King
of Saxony etc.
hereby announce and make known to all that:
After having agreed with our loyal estates about the
necessity of promulgating a law concerning the protection
of rights to literary products and to works of art,
and after having implemented this today, We are hereby
publishing this law, so as to inform in good time all
affected parties about its existence and about the
directive measures which have been taken for its
implementation, but so as to give both the authorities
and private persons enough time to proceed with the
arrangements and measures called for by this law, We
also consider it reasonable to hereby determine
the 1st of May of this year
Chapter 1 Page 3
as the date on which this law and the relevant
regulatory statutes shall come into force.
In witness whereof We have personally signed
this decree and impressed the Royal Seal next to
our signature.
Issued at Dresden, 22 February 1844.
Frederick Augustus
[seal] Eduard Gottlob Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
_______________
Nr 7 LAW,
concerning the protection of rights to literary
products and works of art;
promulgated on 22 February 1844.
We, Frederick Augustus, by the Grace of God King
of Saxony etc. find ourselves induced to decree,
with the approval of our loyal estates, the following
regarding the protection of rights to literary
products and works of art:
1.) The right to reproduce literary products
and works of art by mechanical means belongs
exclusively to the author and his legal successors;
and it is, moreover, a property right which can be
transferred to other persons. This, however, rests
on the assumption that such literary products and
works of art can be used for money-making and that
they really are meant for this, as must be recognisable
from the standard way in which they are used or from
any special circumstances that may apply.
If a reproduction of this kind is carried out
by unauthorised persons, then it is to be considered
as an act of reprinting or illegal copying
2.) In this respect it is totally irrelevant
whether a literary product or work of art has or
has not already been published with the author's
consent; whether the literary product has been
provided by the author himself in the form of a
manuscript, or whether it has been written down by
someone else from an oral account; and, in the case
of works of art, whether the reproduction is made
not through purely mechanical means but with the aid
of copying requiring independent artistic talent.
Chapter 1 Page 4
3.) Such rights, however, cease after the expiry of
a thirty-year period.
The latter begins:
a) in the year immediately following that of the
author's death, as long as the author's identity
can be proved and the work was published in his
lifetime;
b) in all other cases, this period begins in the year
following the first publication of the
intellectual product in question.
When calculating this thirty-year period, works which
constitute a whole by virtue of their intrinsic
correlation are to be treated as having appeared only
once the larger work they form part of has been completed;
as for collections which come out successively but do
not constitute a whole, it is the publication of each
separate part which will be taken into account.
The government reserves the right to extend this
thirty-year protection period in especially pertinent
cases.
After expiry of the period during which an intellectual
product is to receive the legal protection enacted above,
it becomes public property, the reproduction of which
is open to anyone who is authorised to undertake such
commercial enterprises according to the established
industrial and police regulations. When such public
property is reproduced, only those new intellectual
and artistic products with which it is brought into
contact become for their authors a source
of rights of the kind described in §§.1 and 2.
4.) The number of copies in which the reproduction
of a literary product or work of art may be carried out
depends on the agreement reached with the author or the
person who has acquired the latter's rights.
Therefore, if the number of copies that had been
agreed on is sold out, the author's consent must again
be obtained for further copies to be made, unless it was
initially agreed otherwise.
If no explicit contractual provision regarding the
number of copies in which the reproduction was to be
carried out can be dmonstrated, then a number of 1,000
will be assumed as a legal conjecture.
5.) However, for anyone who acquired the right to
reproduce a work before the enactment of this law - as
long as the author or his legal successors cannot prove
the contrary - it will be assumed that he acquired the
right to make an unlimited number of copies of the
unchanged original work and also to repeat these copies.
This same assumption applies to works entered into
the register of the former Book Commission, as well as
to works furnished with with book privileges by the former
Consistory, irrespective of whether the merely ten-year
period of their validity has already expired, and without
any further examination of the earlier claim to this
right of publication.
Chapter 1 Page 5
6.) All those persons who by reproducing a literary
product or work of art encroach on someone's right to the
latter (§§. 1, 2, 4, and 5), or who have knowingly taken
part in this, are jointly obliged to indemnify the right-
holder.
Knowingly participating in the sale of illegal
copies also brings with it the obligation to provide
indemnification. When determining the amount of compensation
due, the first criterion shall be the ratio of the number
of copies sold to the damage suffered by the owner [of the
copyright].
7.) The amount of compensation to be paid, as outlined
in §. 6, is to be calculated according to the sales price
- or the booksellers' price, as the case may be - of a number
of copies of the original edition which must be determined
after consideration of the specific circumstances, and
which will not normally exceed 1,000, unless the right-
holder can prove that the damage suffered was greater than
this.
8.) On request of the affected party, all copies of an
illegally reproduced edition (§. 6) which are still in stock,
and, in those cases in which the reproduction was carried
out by a permanent means which can only be used for such a
purpose, the devices set up to achieve this (e.g. chases,
plates, stones, stereotype casts, and the like) are to be
confiscated and destroyed; or, if the affected party so
wishes, to be handed over to him in exchange for compensation
to be paid to the owner of every one of these objects, in
order to cover the costs which the latter can prove to
have incurred when making these objects.
9.) In addition to this, every encroachment of the kind
discussed in §. 6 is to be punished with a fine of up to
1,000 thaler at judicial discretion.
10.) A [judicial] inquiry can only be instituted on
request of an affected party (a bookseller, an author or
his legal successor, and so on). If the request for an
inquiry is withdrawn, then the provisions of Article 75
of the Criminal Code come into force.
11.) The legal protection which is provided by this
law is conceded to foreigners only insofar as they are able
to demonstrate that in the state whose citizens they are,
a similar legal protection would be granted to Saxon
subjects.
As far as citizens of other German confederate states
are concerned, they are not actually required to provide
such proof, but the legal protection to be afforded to them
is subject to the same limitations of time as apply in the
legislation of their respective states.
12.) With regard to the granting of legal protection,
a foreigner is treated exactly the same as a Saxon subject
whenever any of the following conditions are met:
a) if, as has been proved, he has acquired the
right which is to be protected, directly or
indirectly, from a citizen of Saxony;
b) if, in collaboration and on joint account
with a local bookseller or art dealer, he has
arranged for a reproduction of a work in a Saxon
printing-office, and
Chapter 1 Page 6
the local firm claims legal protection for the foreigner
at the same time, and provided that in both cases the
attestation mentioned in §. 14 has been obtained.
13.) If, on the basis of paragraphs §§. 11 and 12 (b),
a foreigner becomes entitled to legal protection in Saxony
for a literary product or work of art, a reproduction of
which had already been carried out by a local bookseller
or art dealer before the promulgation of this law, then
the sale of any such copies in stock will nonetheless
continue to be permitted, and this permission will also
be applied to any addenda that may appear later in an
edition whose scope [i.e. the number of copies printed]
can be the same as that of the edition of those parts
which appeared earlier.
Permission for the sale of such copies is to be
confirmed by official stamping [inside the book], for
which purpose the already existing copies in stock are
to be submitted within four weeks of the publication of
this law; whereas the copies of any later addenda or
sequels are to be submitted immediately after they
have appeared (at the latest, before they are dispatched
[to the foreign book-seller]).
14.) The requirements for proving the right whose
protection someone may invoke on the basis of this law
are to be assessed according to general legal principles.
However, both judicial and administrative authorities
(§. 17 and the following) are - until the contrary is
proved by someone with a greater right taking due legal
steps - to consider that person sufficiently entitled
whose right is attested by a publisher's certificate
issued by the administrative authority responsible for
such matters, or by any other form of legitimation
which may replace the latter in future.
Foreigners are issued with publisher's certificates
only on the assumptions and provisos indicated above in
§§. 11 and 12.
More detailed regulations about the issuing of
these certificates will subsenquently be provided in
the form of statutes.
15.) Every time that legal protection is requested
against the sale of copies of an illegally reproduced
edition, it does not matter - insofar protection is
being claimed either by a Saxon citizen or by a foreigner
who satisfies the conditions specified in §§. 11 and
12 - in which country the illegal reproduction took place.
16.) Prosecutions on the basis of this law are
generally lawful only insofar as it can be assumed that
the unauthorised reproduction leads to a curtailment of
the money which the right-holder is already earning - or
expects to earn - on the basis of the right to which he is
entitled according to §. 1.
17.) The criminal procedure on the basis of this
law, even if in a given place the civil and criminal
jurisdictions belong to different authorities,
Chapter 1 Page 7
is a matter for the civil court responsible for the
enforcement of civil actions, and is subject to the
sequence of courts which comes into effect as a
result of this enforcement.
18.) Regarding the question as to whether a
mechanical reproduction of a work of literature or
art is to be considered as a reprint or an illegal
copy according to paragraphs §§. 1 and 2, and therefore
encroaches on the author, or his legal successor,
with respect to the profit which the latter had
expected to make from his work; and regarding also
the assessment of the extent of the damage thereby
caused and of the amount to be paid in compensation
for this; as well as where it depends on the
resolution of this question whether a solicited
provisional confiscation and other measures taken
by the administrative authority are admissible; the
adjudicating court is to request a written report
with detailed explanations from an association of
experts.
These associations will consist of experts from
all pertinent fields of practical experience and
special knowledge of the subject - so they will not
just be made up of booksellers and art dealers, but
also of writers, publicists, artists, and, in particular,
also musical composers. As for the way they will be
selected and appointed, as well as regarding the
association's conduct of business, an implementation
ordinance will contain the necessary regulatory statutes.
19.) This law is also to apply to works of the
intellect and of art published before its promulgation.
However, with respect to those whose authors are no
longer alive or whose identity cannot be proved, the
special provision comes into force that the period of
protection specified in §. 3 is to be taken as beginning
on 1 January 1844.
20.) All previous laws and decrees on this matter
are herewith revoked.
21.) Our Ministries of Justice and the Interior
are charged with implementing this law.
In witness whereof We have personally ratified
this law and impressed the Royal Seal next to our signature.
Issued at Dresden, 22 February 1844.
Frederick Augustus
[seal] Eduard Gottlob Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
Chapter 1 Page 8
Nr 8.) ORDINANCE
for the implementation of the law on the protection of rights
to literary products and works of art;
(issued on 22 February 1844)
For the purposes of implementing the law on the protection
of rights to literary and artistic works, which has been
published today, the following is decreed with the consent of
His Majesty:
I.
(pertaining to §§. 6 to 9)
1.) Although all decisions and legal executions on the
basis of these paragraphs are a matter for the courts, the
administrative authorities must nevertheless also act on
requests submitted to them, before awaiting the courts'
decisions as to whether given print or art products are to
be regarded and treated as illegal reproductions, and
carry out those examinations and take those consequent
measures which are necessary for the prevention of actions
that are not permitted according to the law, for the
investigation and ascertainment of the facts of the case
where such actions have already been committed, or for
safeguarding the rights and interests of the persons
injured thereby.
2.) Amongst the preliminary arrangements which are
accordingly to be made by the administrative authorities
are, in particular, such measures as provisional sales
prohibitions and confiscations of the objects mentioned
in paragraph §.8 of the law.
3.) If requests for such measures are submitted to
an administrative authority by one of the parties concerned,
it shall make these arrangements insofar as, on the
basis of the provisional proof received, and after any
examinations it considers necessary, such measures seem
justified; however, it must also refer the petitioner to
the law-courts.
4.) Differences of opinion amongst several
administrative authorities of the same level to which the
same petition has been made simultaneously, can only be
resolved by having recourse to a higher authority.
5.) The administrative authority must, on the request
of anyone who, after proving his interest, files an
objection against the provisional injunction it has
issued, set the person who requested the latter a deadline
depending on the circumstances (but of no more than eight
weeks) by which date he is to initiate legal proceedings
and provide proof that he has done so. If this deadline
is not met, the provisional injunction against which the
objection was directed is to be revoked again.
6.) If no such objection is raised, the provisional
injunction issued by the administrative authority remains
in force. However, a provisional seizure [of illegal objects]
Chapter 1 Page 9
can only be turned into real confiscation insofar
as either the parties concerned explicitly accept
the latter, or confiscation is imposed by order of
the adjudicating court.
7.) After legal proceedings have been initiated,
the administrative authority must abstain from any
further activity in the matter, except for any
confiscation measures which the courts may request,
and it must also provide the court of justice with
any records it may have on the matter.
II.
(pertaining to §. 13)
1.) In order to meet the four-week deadline
specified in this paragraph, it is sufficient to
submit within this time, either in writing or orally,
an application for offical stamping to the local
authority, indicating the number of copies that
are to be stamped.
2.) If the applicant also wants to ensure that
any copies exported by him for sale on commission
abroad are subsequently stamped, he must submit,
within the same four-week period, proof of how
many copies of his books he has exported for this
purpose. This proof must go on the records immediately
and will serve as subsequent confirmation that any
copies actually returned (up to the number indicated)
are to be officially stamped on request.
Any copies dispatched to places within Saxon
territory must be submitted for official stamping
to the relevant local authority either by the publisher
or by the local commission agent or retail book-seller.
3.) The official stamping is to be carried out
free of charge and is to consist of a stamp with the
inscription: "Seen", as well as a signature indicating
the relevant local authority, e.g. The City Council
of Leipzig.
4.) Stamping can only be dispensed with when
proof is supplied (or promised) that the author has
directly or indirectly acquired a right to produce
copies or reproductions [of his work].
III.
(pertaining to §. 14)
1.) Publisher's certificates are only issued on
the explicit request of a right-holder,
2.) after the latter has provided proof of his
right which is deemed sufficient by the authority,
taking into account the relevant circumstances in
each case, and
3.) on the basis of registration in a "Register"
which from now on is to be kept solely by the District
Administration in Leipzig and is to apply to all regions
of Saxony;
Chapter 1 Page 10
4.) moreover, such certificates are also to be
issued to foreigners, but only on the conditions
specified in §§. 11 and 12 of the law.
5.) This registration is allowable for all
literary products and works of art mentioned in §§. 1
and 2 of the law, irrespective of whether their
reproduction has already taken place or not. Registration,
however, is not possible for a work that has become
public property and is to be reproduced anew.
6.) If someone applying for registration of a
literary product or work of art wishes to guarantee
its identity, or if he is just willing to collaborate
in this way for the promotion of something that is in
the interests of the common good, he must submit on
receipt a copy of the work to the District Administration,
which will then arrange for it to be stored in a public
library.
7.) Registrations and publisher's certificates can
also be obtained for separate parts of a literary
product or work of art.
8.) Even for the case where foreigners are
applying for registrations and publisher's certificates,
provided that their applications are presented by
local proxies, a power of attorney that hasn't been
judicially recognised is sufficient for this, as
long as it is valid in every other respect.
9.) All legitimation documents submitted are
to be filed in the records, either as the original
documents or as certified copies.
10.) The registration and the publisher's
certificate issued on the basis of the former must
contain a sufficiently precise description of the
literary product or work of art, and, in the case of
a literary work, they must also contain its full
title; in addition to this, the publisher's certificate
must also indicate the date of registration and the
number of the entry in the register, and it must also
have printed on it the
"Publisher's certificate stamp of the District Administration in Leipzig".
11.) Any objections raised against registrations
and the issuing of publisher's certificates are to be
dealt with by the District Administration through
administrative channels. The latter, however, can
delay registration and the issuing of a publisher's
certificate until a court decision has been reached.
Against decisions and judgements of the District
Administration appeals can be made to the Ministry of
the Interior, which will similarly decide on the matter
solely through administrative channels.
12.) No fee is to be charged for registration in
the Register and the issuing of publisher's certificates.
However, if such fees are to be exacted in the case of
disputes or appeals that have been lodged, is to be
indicated in the court's ruling on such matters.
13.) Every month the District Administration will
arrange for appropriate extracts from the Register to
be inserted into the booksellers' commercial newspaper.
Chapter 1 Page 11
IV.
(pertaining to §. 17)
In all civil and criminal lawsuits which have to be
decided in accordance with this law, the jurisdiction
which is to come into effect in Leipzig is, depending
on the plaintiff's choice, either that of the defendant's
regular authority or that of the section of the Leipzig
Municipal Court known as the Commercial Court.
V.
(pertaining to §. 18)
1.) For the purposes of implementing the provisions
contained in this paragraph, there will be, for the time
being and until the desire for a larger number is expressed,
just one Experts' Association to cover the whole of Saxony.
2.) This Association is to consist of four sections,
of which one is responsible for the field of
literary products of all kinds,
one for that of musical compositions,
one for the field of the graphic arts: drawing,
painting, lithography, copper and steel engraving,
etc. and
one for the field of the plastic arts: modelling
with soft clays, sculpture, wood engraving and
carving, stamp-cutting, the minting of
commemorative medals, metal casting, etc.
and of which, moreover,
the 1st is to be made up of:
two scholars and
two booksellers,
the 2nd is to consist of
two composers and
two music shop-owners,
the 3rd is to be made up of
two art experts and
two art dealers,
and the 4th is to consist of five art experts.
3.) Directives for the selection and appointment of these
experts and their deputies are now being issued jointly
(and will continue to be so) by the Ministries of Justice
and of the Interior. They are to be sworn in before the
Municipal Court in Leipzig.
Chapter 1 Page 12
4.) The Commercial Court and the City Council of
Leipzig must directly forward any questions singled
out as requiring the assessment of these experts,
together with the objects to be examined and the records
in each case, to the relevant section of the Association.
All other judicial authorities must do this indirectly,
after receipt of a requisition order [?] from the
Commercial Court; similarly, all other administrative
authorities must await a requisition order [?] from the
City Council.
5.) The section concerned must draw up a joint
written report, giving the reasoning for their arguments,
on the questions submitted to it. Insofar as, however,
the members of the section fail to reach and agree on
unanimous views, the different opinions held by individual
members are to be included in the report - it is especially
important that this is observed with regard to the
assessment of the damages [suffered by the injured party.]
6.) The report is to be signed by those members of
the section who took part in the consultations, and it is
then to be submitted - together with the records and any
supplementary material, as well as an estimation of the
fee for this service, which is to be included alongside
the other costs that arise in the course of the proceedings
- to the Commercial Court or the City Council as the case
may be.
7.) The extent to which the adjucating judge or the
administrative authority are to take into consideration
the report when deciding on a verdict or ruling, is to be
determined according to general legal principles.
All persons whom this ordinance concerns
must observe what is laid out above.
Dresden, 22 February 1844.
The Ministries of Justice and of the Interior.
von Könneritz. Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
Kuhn.
Translation by: Luis Sundkvist
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte Frankfurt / Main Dt 9 Ak 9
Citation:
Saxon Copyright Act, Dresden (1844), 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
12 translated pages
Chapter 1 Page 1
Journal of Statutes
and
Decrees
for the
Kingdom of Saxony
in the year 1844
_________________
Parts 1-21
_________________
With a most gracious Royal Saxon privilege
__________________________
Dresden
Printed and available at C. C. Meinhold and Sons, printers to the court
Chapter 1 Page 2
We, Frederick Augustus, by the Grace of God King
of Saxony etc.
hereby announce and make known to all that:
After having agreed with our loyal estates about the
necessity of promulgating a law concerning the protection
of rights to literary products and to works of art,
and after having implemented this today, We are hereby
publishing this law, so as to inform in good time all
affected parties about its existence and about the
directive measures which have been taken for its
implementation, but so as to give both the authorities
and private persons enough time to proceed with the
arrangements and measures called for by this law, We
also consider it reasonable to hereby determine
the 1st of May of this year
Chapter 1 Page 3
as the date on which this law and the relevant
regulatory statutes shall come into force.
In witness whereof We have personally signed
this decree and impressed the Royal Seal next to
our signature.
Issued at Dresden, 22 February 1844.
Frederick Augustus
[seal] Eduard Gottlob Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
_______________
concerning the protection of rights to literary
products and works of art;
promulgated on 22 February 1844.
We, Frederick Augustus, by the Grace of God King
of Saxony etc. find ourselves induced to decree,
with the approval of our loyal estates, the following
regarding the protection of rights to literary
products and works of art:
1.) The right to reproduce literary products
and works of art by mechanical means belongs
exclusively to the author and his legal successors;
and it is, moreover, a property right which can be
transferred to other persons. This, however, rests
on the assumption that such literary products and
works of art can be used for money-making and that
they really are meant for this, as must be recognisable
from the standard way in which they are used or from
any special circumstances that may apply.
If a reproduction of this kind is carried out
by unauthorised persons, then it is to be considered
as an act of reprinting or illegal copying
2.) In this respect it is totally irrelevant
whether a literary product or work of art has or
has not already been published with the author's
consent; whether the literary product has been
provided by the author himself in the form of a
manuscript, or whether it has been written down by
someone else from an oral account; and, in the case
of works of art, whether the reproduction is made
not through purely mechanical means but with the aid
of copying requiring independent artistic talent.
Chapter 1 Page 4
3.) Such rights, however, cease after the expiry of
a thirty-year period.
The latter begins:
a) in the year immediately following that of the
author's death, as long as the author's identity
can be proved and the work was published in his
lifetime;
b) in all other cases, this period begins in the year
following the first publication of the
intellectual product in question.
When calculating this thirty-year period, works which
constitute a whole by virtue of their intrinsic
correlation are to be treated as having appeared only
once the larger work they form part of has been completed;
as for collections which come out successively but do
not constitute a whole, it is the publication of each
separate part which will be taken into account.
The government reserves the right to extend this
thirty-year protection period in especially pertinent
cases.
After expiry of the period during which an intellectual
product is to receive the legal protection enacted above,
it becomes public property, the reproduction of which
is open to anyone who is authorised to undertake such
commercial enterprises according to the established
industrial and police regulations. When such public
property is reproduced, only those new intellectual
and artistic products with which it is brought into
contact become for their authors a source
of rights of the kind described in §§.1 and 2.
4.) The number of copies in which the reproduction
of a literary product or work of art may be carried out
depends on the agreement reached with the author or the
person who has acquired the latter's rights.
Therefore, if the number of copies that had been
agreed on is sold out, the author's consent must again
be obtained for further copies to be made, unless it was
initially agreed otherwise.
If no explicit contractual provision regarding the
number of copies in which the reproduction was to be
carried out can be dmonstrated, then a number of 1,000
will be assumed as a legal conjecture.
5.) However, for anyone who acquired the right to
reproduce a work before the enactment of this law - as
long as the author or his legal successors cannot prove
the contrary - it will be assumed that he acquired the
right to make an unlimited number of copies of the
unchanged original work and also to repeat these copies.
This same assumption applies to works entered into
the register of the former Book Commission, as well as
to works furnished with with book privileges by the former
Consistory, irrespective of whether the merely ten-year
period of their validity has already expired, and without
any further examination of the earlier claim to this
right of publication.
Chapter 1 Page 5
6.) All those persons who by reproducing a literary
product or work of art encroach on someone's right to the
latter (§§. 1, 2, 4, and 5), or who have knowingly taken
part in this, are jointly obliged to indemnify the right-
holder.
Knowingly participating in the sale of illegal
copies also brings with it the obligation to provide
indemnification. When determining the amount of compensation
due, the first criterion shall be the ratio of the number
of copies sold to the damage suffered by the owner [of the
copyright].
7.) The amount of compensation to be paid, as outlined
in §. 6, is to be calculated according to the sales price
- or the booksellers' price, as the case may be - of a number
of copies of the original edition which must be determined
after consideration of the specific circumstances, and
which will not normally exceed 1,000, unless the right-
holder can prove that the damage suffered was greater than
this.
8.) On request of the affected party, all copies of an
illegally reproduced edition (§. 6) which are still in stock,
and, in those cases in which the reproduction was carried
out by a permanent means which can only be used for such a
purpose, the devices set up to achieve this (e.g. chases,
plates, stones, stereotype casts, and the like) are to be
confiscated and destroyed; or, if the affected party so
wishes, to be handed over to him in exchange for compensation
to be paid to the owner of every one of these objects, in
order to cover the costs which the latter can prove to
have incurred when making these objects.
9.) In addition to this, every encroachment of the kind
discussed in §. 6 is to be punished with a fine of up to
1,000 thaler at judicial discretion.
10.) A [judicial] inquiry can only be instituted on
request of an affected party (a bookseller, an author or
his legal successor, and so on). If the request for an
inquiry is withdrawn, then the provisions of Article 75
of the Criminal Code come into force.
11.) The legal protection which is provided by this
law is conceded to foreigners only insofar as they are able
to demonstrate that in the state whose citizens they are,
a similar legal protection would be granted to Saxon
subjects.
As far as citizens of other German confederate states
are concerned, they are not actually required to provide
such proof, but the legal protection to be afforded to them
is subject to the same limitations of time as apply in the
legislation of their respective states.
12.) With regard to the granting of legal protection,
a foreigner is treated exactly the same as a Saxon subject
whenever any of the following conditions are met:
a) if, as has been proved, he has acquired the
right which is to be protected, directly or
indirectly, from a citizen of Saxony;
b) if, in collaboration and on joint account
with a local bookseller or art dealer, he has
arranged for a reproduction of a work in a Saxon
printing-office, and
Chapter 1 Page 6
the local firm claims legal protection for the foreigner
at the same time, and provided that in both cases the
attestation mentioned in §. 14 has been obtained.
13.) If, on the basis of paragraphs §§. 11 and 12 (b),
a foreigner becomes entitled to legal protection in Saxony
for a literary product or work of art, a reproduction of
which had already been carried out by a local bookseller
or art dealer before the promulgation of this law, then
the sale of any such copies in stock will nonetheless
continue to be permitted, and this permission will also
be applied to any addenda that may appear later in an
edition whose scope [i.e. the number of copies printed]
can be the same as that of the edition of those parts
which appeared earlier.
Permission for the sale of such copies is to be
confirmed by official stamping [inside the book], for
which purpose the already existing copies in stock are
to be submitted within four weeks of the publication of
this law; whereas the copies of any later addenda or
sequels are to be submitted immediately after they
have appeared (at the latest, before they are dispatched
[to the foreign book-seller]).
14.) The requirements for proving the right whose
protection someone may invoke on the basis of this law
are to be assessed according to general legal principles.
However, both judicial and administrative authorities
(§. 17 and the following) are - until the contrary is
proved by someone with a greater right taking due legal
steps - to consider that person sufficiently entitled
whose right is attested by a publisher's certificate
issued by the administrative authority responsible for
such matters, or by any other form of legitimation
which may replace the latter in future.
Foreigners are issued with publisher's certificates
only on the assumptions and provisos indicated above in
§§. 11 and 12.
More detailed regulations about the issuing of
these certificates will subsenquently be provided in
the form of statutes.
15.) Every time that legal protection is requested
against the sale of copies of an illegally reproduced
edition, it does not matter - insofar protection is
being claimed either by a Saxon citizen or by a foreigner
who satisfies the conditions specified in §§. 11 and
12 - in which country the illegal reproduction took place.
16.) Prosecutions on the basis of this law are
generally lawful only insofar as it can be assumed that
the unauthorised reproduction leads to a curtailment of
the money which the right-holder is already earning - or
expects to earn - on the basis of the right to which he is
entitled according to §. 1.
17.) The criminal procedure on the basis of this
law, even if in a given place the civil and criminal
jurisdictions belong to different authorities,
Chapter 1 Page 7
is a matter for the civil court responsible for the
enforcement of civil actions, and is subject to the
sequence of courts which comes into effect as a
result of this enforcement.
18.) Regarding the question as to whether a
mechanical reproduction of a work of literature or
art is to be considered as a reprint or an illegal
copy according to paragraphs §§. 1 and 2, and therefore
encroaches on the author, or his legal successor,
with respect to the profit which the latter had
expected to make from his work; and regarding also
the assessment of the extent of the damage thereby
caused and of the amount to be paid in compensation
for this; as well as where it depends on the
resolution of this question whether a solicited
provisional confiscation and other measures taken
by the administrative authority are admissible; the
adjudicating court is to request a written report
with detailed explanations from an association of
experts.
These associations will consist of experts from
all pertinent fields of practical experience and
special knowledge of the subject - so they will not
just be made up of booksellers and art dealers, but
also of writers, publicists, artists, and, in particular,
also musical composers. As for the way they will be
selected and appointed, as well as regarding the
association's conduct of business, an implementation
ordinance will contain the necessary regulatory statutes.
19.) This law is also to apply to works of the
intellect and of art published before its promulgation.
However, with respect to those whose authors are no
longer alive or whose identity cannot be proved, the
special provision comes into force that the period of
protection specified in §. 3 is to be taken as beginning
on 1 January 1844.
20.) All previous laws and decrees on this matter
are herewith revoked.
21.) Our Ministries of Justice and the Interior
are charged with implementing this law.
In witness whereof We have personally ratified
this law and impressed the Royal Seal next to our signature.
Issued at Dresden, 22 February 1844.
Frederick Augustus
[seal] Eduard Gottlob Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
Chapter 1 Page 8
(issued on 22 February 1844)
For the purposes of implementing the law on the protection
of rights to literary and artistic works, which has been
published today, the following is decreed with the consent of
His Majesty:
1.) Although all decisions and legal executions on the
basis of these paragraphs are a matter for the courts, the
administrative authorities must nevertheless also act on
requests submitted to them, before awaiting the courts'
decisions as to whether given print or art products are to
be regarded and treated as illegal reproductions, and
carry out those examinations and take those consequent
measures which are necessary for the prevention of actions
that are not permitted according to the law, for the
investigation and ascertainment of the facts of the case
where such actions have already been committed, or for
safeguarding the rights and interests of the persons
injured thereby.
2.) Amongst the preliminary arrangements which are
accordingly to be made by the administrative authorities
are, in particular, such measures as provisional sales
prohibitions and confiscations of the objects mentioned
in paragraph §.8 of the law.
3.) If requests for such measures are submitted to
an administrative authority by one of the parties concerned,
it shall make these arrangements insofar as, on the
basis of the provisional proof received, and after any
examinations it considers necessary, such measures seem
justified; however, it must also refer the petitioner to
the law-courts.
4.) Differences of opinion amongst several
administrative authorities of the same level to which the
same petition has been made simultaneously, can only be
resolved by having recourse to a higher authority.
5.) The administrative authority must, on the request
of anyone who, after proving his interest, files an
objection against the provisional injunction it has
issued, set the person who requested the latter a deadline
depending on the circumstances (but of no more than eight
weeks) by which date he is to initiate legal proceedings
and provide proof that he has done so. If this deadline
is not met, the provisional injunction against which the
objection was directed is to be revoked again.
6.) If no such objection is raised, the provisional
injunction issued by the administrative authority remains
in force. However, a provisional seizure [of illegal objects]
Chapter 1 Page 9
can only be turned into real confiscation insofar
as either the parties concerned explicitly accept
the latter, or confiscation is imposed by order of
the adjudicating court.
7.) After legal proceedings have been initiated,
the administrative authority must abstain from any
further activity in the matter, except for any
confiscation measures which the courts may request,
and it must also provide the court of justice with
any records it may have on the matter.
1.) In order to meet the four-week deadline
specified in this paragraph, it is sufficient to
submit within this time, either in writing or orally,
an application for offical stamping to the local
authority, indicating the number of copies that
are to be stamped.
2.) If the applicant also wants to ensure that
any copies exported by him for sale on commission
abroad are subsequently stamped, he must submit,
within the same four-week period, proof of how
many copies of his books he has exported for this
purpose. This proof must go on the records immediately
and will serve as subsequent confirmation that any
copies actually returned (up to the number indicated)
are to be officially stamped on request.
Any copies dispatched to places within Saxon
territory must be submitted for official stamping
to the relevant local authority either by the publisher
or by the local commission agent or retail book-seller.
3.) The official stamping is to be carried out
free of charge and is to consist of a stamp with the
inscription: "Seen", as well as a signature indicating
the relevant local authority, e.g. The City Council
of Leipzig.
4.) Stamping can only be dispensed with when
proof is supplied (or promised) that the author has
directly or indirectly acquired a right to produce
copies or reproductions [of his work].
1.) Publisher's certificates are only issued on
the explicit request of a right-holder,
2.) after the latter has provided proof of his
right which is deemed sufficient by the authority,
taking into account the relevant circumstances in
each case, and
3.) on the basis of registration in a "Register"
which from now on is to be kept solely by the District
Administration in Leipzig and is to apply to all regions
of Saxony;
Chapter 1 Page 10
4.) moreover, such certificates are also to be
issued to foreigners, but only on the conditions
specified in §§. 11 and 12 of the law.
5.) This registration is allowable for all
literary products and works of art mentioned in §§. 1
and 2 of the law, irrespective of whether their
reproduction has already taken place or not. Registration,
however, is not possible for a work that has become
public property and is to be reproduced anew.
6.) If someone applying for registration of a
literary product or work of art wishes to guarantee
its identity, or if he is just willing to collaborate
in this way for the promotion of something that is in
the interests of the common good, he must submit on
receipt a copy of the work to the District Administration,
which will then arrange for it to be stored in a public
library.
7.) Registrations and publisher's certificates can
also be obtained for separate parts of a literary
product or work of art.
8.) Even for the case where foreigners are
applying for registrations and publisher's certificates,
provided that their applications are presented by
local proxies, a power of attorney that hasn't been
judicially recognised is sufficient for this, as
long as it is valid in every other respect.
9.) All legitimation documents submitted are
to be filed in the records, either as the original
documents or as certified copies.
10.) The registration and the publisher's
certificate issued on the basis of the former must
contain a sufficiently precise description of the
literary product or work of art, and, in the case of
a literary work, they must also contain its full
title; in addition to this, the publisher's certificate
must also indicate the date of registration and the
number of the entry in the register, and it must also
have printed on it the
"Publisher's certificate stamp of the District Administration in Leipzig".
11.) Any objections raised against registrations
and the issuing of publisher's certificates are to be
dealt with by the District Administration through
administrative channels. The latter, however, can
delay registration and the issuing of a publisher's
certificate until a court decision has been reached.
Against decisions and judgements of the District
Administration appeals can be made to the Ministry of
the Interior, which will similarly decide on the matter
solely through administrative channels.
12.) No fee is to be charged for registration in
the Register and the issuing of publisher's certificates.
However, if such fees are to be exacted in the case of
disputes or appeals that have been lodged, is to be
indicated in the court's ruling on such matters.
13.) Every month the District Administration will
arrange for appropriate extracts from the Register to
be inserted into the booksellers' commercial newspaper.
Chapter 1 Page 11
In all civil and criminal lawsuits which have to be
decided in accordance with this law, the jurisdiction
which is to come into effect in Leipzig is, depending
on the plaintiff's choice, either that of the defendant's
regular authority or that of the section of the Leipzig
Municipal Court known as the Commercial Court.
1.) For the purposes of implementing the provisions
contained in this paragraph, there will be, for the time
being and until the desire for a larger number is expressed,
just one Experts' Association to cover the whole of Saxony.
2.) This Association is to consist of four sections,
of which one is responsible for the field of
literary products of all kinds,
one for that of musical compositions,
one for the field of the graphic arts: drawing,
painting, lithography, copper and steel engraving,
etc. and
one for the field of the plastic arts: modelling
with soft clays, sculpture, wood engraving and
carving, stamp-cutting, the minting of
commemorative medals, metal casting, etc.
and of which, moreover,
the 1st is to be made up of:
two scholars and
two booksellers,
the 2nd is to consist of
two composers and
two music shop-owners,
the 3rd is to be made up of
two art experts and
two art dealers,
and the 4th is to consist of five art experts.
3.) Directives for the selection and appointment of these
experts and their deputies are now being issued jointly
(and will continue to be so) by the Ministries of Justice
and of the Interior. They are to be sworn in before the
Municipal Court in Leipzig.
Chapter 1 Page 12
4.) The Commercial Court and the City Council of
Leipzig must directly forward any questions singled
out as requiring the assessment of these experts,
together with the objects to be examined and the records
in each case, to the relevant section of the Association.
All other judicial authorities must do this indirectly,
after receipt of a requisition order [?] from the
Commercial Court; similarly, all other administrative
authorities must await a requisition order [?] from the
City Council.
5.) The section concerned must draw up a joint
written report, giving the reasoning for their arguments,
on the questions submitted to it. Insofar as, however,
the members of the section fail to reach and agree on
unanimous views, the different opinions held by individual
members are to be included in the report - it is especially
important that this is observed with regard to the
assessment of the damages [suffered by the injured party.]
6.) The report is to be signed by those members of
the section who took part in the consultations, and it is
then to be submitted - together with the records and any
supplementary material, as well as an estimation of the
fee for this service, which is to be included alongside
the other costs that arise in the course of the proceedings
- to the Commercial Court or the City Council as the case
may be.
7.) The extent to which the adjucating judge or the
administrative authority are to take into consideration
the report when deciding on a verdict or ruling, is to be
determined according to general legal principles.
All persons whom this ordinance concerns
must observe what is laid out above.
Dresden, 22 February 1844.
The Ministries of Justice and of the Interior.
von Könneritz. Nostitz-Jänckendorf.
Kuhn.
Translation by: Luis Sundkvist