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Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs, Berlin (1876)
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt
Citation:
Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs, Berlin (1876), 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
IMPERIAL LAW GAZETTE.
1876
________
Contains
the laws, decrees etc. from 3 January to 25 December 1876,
together with a treaty of 1875.
(From No. 1107 up to and incl. No. 1155)
No. 1 up to and incl. No. 29
_____________________________
Berlin,
available at the Imperial Post and News Office.
Chapter 1 Page 2
4
(Nr. 1110) Law, concerning author's rights to works of the fine arts.
Issued on 9 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King
of Prussia etc
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of
the Bundesrat and the Reichstag the following:
A. Exclusive right of the author
§. 1
The right to copy a work of the fine arts wholly or partially
is vested exclusively in its author.
§. 2
The author's right passes to his heirs. This right can be
transferred conditionally or unconditionally to others by a contract
or testament.
§. 3
The present law does not apply to architecture.
§. 4
Not to be treated as replication is the free use of a work of the
fine arts to create a new work.
§. 5
Every copy of a work of the fine arts which is produced without
the permission of the right-holder (§§. 1, 2) for the purpose of
distributing it, is forbidden. The following are also to be treated
as instances of illegal replication:
1. if, when producing the copy, a different method is
used to that employed for the original work;
2. if the copy was made not directly from the original work,
but indirectly from a replica of the latter;
3. if the copy of a work of the fine arts is located on a
work of architecture, industry, manufacture, artisanship
or the crafts;
4. if the author or the publisher, in violation of the
contract which they have established between themselves,
arrange for a new replica of the work;
5. if the publisher causes to be produced a greater number
of copies of a work than he is legally or contractually
entitled to.
§. 6
The following do not count as instances of illegal replication:
a single copy of a work of the fine arts, insofar as it
is made with no intention of using it commercially. It is,
however, forbidden
Chapter 1 Page 3
5
to fix in any way whatsoever the author's name or
monogram to that single copy, failing which a
fine of up to 500 mark will be imposed;
2. the replication of a work of the graphic or
pictorial arts by means of sculpture, or vice versa;
3. the replication of works of the fine arts which are
located in or at streets or public squares. The copy
must, however, not be carried out in the same
artistic form;
4. the inclusion of reproductions of individual works of
the fine arts in a literary work, as long as the latter
constitutes the principal content and the illustrations
merely serve the purpose of elucidating the text. However,
the author of the original or the source used must be
indicated, failing which the penal provision in §. 24
of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's rights
to works of literature etc. (Federal Law Gazette 1870,
p.339) is to be applied.
§. 7
If someone legitimately replicates a work of the fine arts created
by someone else, using a different artistic method to achieve this, he
has the right of an author (§. 1) to the work he has produced, even if
the original has already become public property.
§. 8
If the author of a work of the fine arts hands over ownership to the
work to someone else, then from now on this no longer includes a transfer of
the right to replicate the work [Nachbildungsrecht]. In the case of
portraits and portrait busts, however, this right does pass to the person
who commissioned the work.
The owner of the work is not obliged to release it to its author or to
his legal successors for the purpose of arranging replicas of it.
B. Duration of the author's right
§. 9
The protection against replication provided by the present law is granted
for the duration of the author's life and for thirty years after his death.
In the case of works which are published, this duration of the legal
protection afforded is conditional on the author's true name being stated
in full on the work or expressed by otherwise distinguishable signs.
Works which are published either under a different name to the author's
true name, or for which no author is indicated at all, are protected against
replication for thirty years from the date of their publication. If within
these thirty years the author's true name is declared, either by himself or
by the legal successors he has appointed for this, so that it may be entered
in the register (§. 39 of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's
rights to works of literature etc. - Federal Law Gazette 1870, p.339),
this will result in the work acquiring the longer protection term
specified in the first paragraph of this article.
Chapter 1 Page 4
6
§. 10
In the case of works which come out in various volumes or
instalments, the protection terms are calculated from the date of
publication of each one of these volumes or each one of these
instalments.
For works, however, which deal with a single task over one or
several volumes, which volumes are then to be regarded as linked
amongst themselves, the protection term does not commence until the
publication of the last volume or the last instalment.
However, if between the publication of individual volumes
or instalments a space of time greater than three years has elapsed,
the volumes, instalments etc. which appeared earlier are to be
treated as a whole work in their own right, and, similarly, any further
sequels appearing after these three years shall be regarded as a new
work.
§. 11
Works which are not published until after the author's death
are to be protected against replication for thirty years, counted
from the date of his death.
§. 12
Individual works of the fine arts which have appeared in
periodical works, such as journals, pocket-books, calendars etc.,
can, even without the consent of the editor or publisher of the work
in which they were included - provided that it has not been
agreed otherwise - be printed elsewhere by their authors after two
years have passed since the year in which they were first published.
§. 13
When calculating the extent of the legal term of protection,
the year in which the author died and the calendar year in which
the work or translation was published are not counted as well.
§. 14
If the author of a work of the fine arts allows it to be
replicated in a work of industry, manufacture, artisanship or the
crafts, the protection he will receive against replication in
works of industry etc. is not that provided in the present law,
but only that accorded by the Law concerning author's rights to
designs and models.
§. 15
A right of escheat to the fiscal authorities or to other
persons entitled to derelict estates does not apply with regard
to the exclusive right of the author and his legal successors.
C. Safeguarding of the author's right
§. 16
The provisions in §§. 18-42 of the Statute of 11 June 1870
concerning author's rights to works of literature etc. (Federal
Law Gazette 1870, p.339) are also to be applied accordingly
to works of the fine arts.
Chapter 1 Page 5
7
The experts' associations which according to §. 31 of the
said law are to submit reports on the replication of works of
the fine arts shall be made up of artists from different branches
of art, art dealers, craftsmen working in applied art, and other
connoisseurs of art.
D. General conditions
§. 17
The present law comes into force on 1 July 1876. All
previous legal provisions in force in the individual states of
the German Empire with regard to authors' rights to works of the
fine arts will cease to be valid from that very same day.
§. 18
The present law is to apply to all works of the fine arts
that have appeared before its enactment, even if, according to
the state legislations which were previously in force, these
works did not enjoy any protection against replication.
Any reproductions of these works still available at the time
of the enactment of this law, and which it was permitted to
produce according to the hitherto valid legislation, may in
future continue to be distributed, even if their production is
forbidden by the present law.
Likewise, any pieces of equipment, such as moulds, plates,
stone, stereotype casts etc., still in existence at the time of
the enactment of this law, and which were legitimately created
in accordance with the laws previously in force, may in future
continue to be used to produce copies.
The governments of the states of the German Empire will draw
up an official inventory on the pieces of equipment and
installations which may still be used henceforth, and will arrange
for these items to be marked with a uniform stamp.
After expiry of the term specified for legalization,
all pieces of equipment for the aforementioned works which do not
bear such stamps are, on request of the injured parties, liable to
confiscation. More detailed instructions on the procedure to be
observed when drawing up the inventory and stamping these items,
will be forthcoming from the Imperial State Chancery.
§. 19
The granting of privileges for the protection of author's
rights is no longer permitted.
The holder of a privilege issued before the enactment of
this law by the governments of individual German states is
entitled to decide whether he wants to make use of this privilege
or invoke the protection of the present law.
The protection afforded by such a privilege, however, can only
be enforced for the territory of those states which had originally
granted it.
Chapter 1 Page 6
8
Invoking the protection afforded by a privilege is conditional
on having printed the text of the privilege, either in full or
the main sections thereof, at the front of the work, or on having
indicated it on or behind the work's title-page. Where this is not
possible because of the nature of the work concerned, or where this
has not been done before, the privilege must, on pain of its
annulment, be declared within three monthsof the promulgation of this
law, so that it may be entered into the register and public notice
be made of it by the board of curators responsible for the maintenance
of the register.
§. 20
The present law is to be applied to all works by native authors,
regardless of whether their works have appeared at home or abroad, or
if they have not even been published yet.
If works by foreign authors are brought out by native publishers,
then these covered by the protection afforded by the present law.
§. 21
Those works by foreign authors which have been published in a
place that is geographically situated within the boundaries of the
former German Confederation, but not within those of the German
Empire shall enjoy the protection of this law, provided that the
legislation of the state concerned gives works which come out in
the German Empire the same level of protection as works by native
authors; however, the term of protection shall not exceed that which
is valid in that state itself. The same applies to unpublished works
by authors who are not citizens of the German Empire, but who do come
from the territory of the former German Confederation.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand and
affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 9 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
_____________________
(Nr. 1111) Statute concerning the protection of photographs against
unauthorised reproduction. Enacted on 10 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King of Prussia etc.
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of the
Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the following:
§. 1
The right to fully or partially reproduce by mechanical means a
work which has been produced through photography is vested exclusively
in the person who shot the photograph.
Chapter 1 Page 7
9
The present law does not apply to photographs of such
works which are still legally protected against reprinting
and reproduction.
§. 2
The free use of a work produced by means of photography
in order to create a new work is not to be regarded as a case
of replication.
§. 3
The mechanical reproduction of a photographic work, which is
made without the consent of the right-holder (§§. 1 and 7) and
with the intention of distributing it, is forbidden.
§. 4
The reproduction of a photographic work that is located on
a work of industry, manufacture, artisanship or the crafts, is
not to be regarded as a forbidden replica.
§. 5
Every legitimate photographic or other mechanical reproduction
of the original photograph must contain (either on the image itself
or on the mounting board) the following:
a) the name (or the company name) of the creator of the
original photograph, or of its publisher, and
b) the place of residence of the photographer or publisher,
c) the calendar year in which the legitimate reproduction
first appeared,
failing which no protection against replication will apply.
§. 6
The protection given by the present law against replication is
granted to the creator of the photographic work for five years. This
term is calculated from the end of the calendar year in which the
legitimate photographic or other mechanical reproductions of the
original photograph first appeared.
If such reproductions do not appear, then the five-year term is
to be calculated from the end of the calendar year in which the
negative of the photograph came into existence.
In the case of works which come out in several volumes or
instalments, §. 14 of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's
rights to works of literature etc. is to be applied.
§. 7
The right, as defined in §. 1, of the creator of a photographic
work passes to his heirs. Likewise, this right can be transferred by
the author or his heirs, wholly or partially, by contract or by
testamentary disposal, to other persons. In the case of photographic
portraits, this right passes automatically to the person who
commissioned it, without any need for a contract.
Chapter 1 Page 8
10
§. 8
If someone reproduces by means of pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural art a photograph created by another person, he is
to enjoy, with regard to the work he has produced, the right of
an author in accordance with §. 7 of the Statute of 9 January
concerning author's rights to works of the fine arts.
§. 9
The provisions contained in §§. 18-38, 44, 61 (1st paragraph)
of the statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's rights to works
of literature etc. are also to apply to the exclusive right of
replication and reproduction held by the creator of photographic
works.
§. 10
The experts' associations which are to submit reports about
the reproduction of photographs are to be made up of artists from
various branches of art, as well as art dealers, other connoisseurs
and photographers.
§. 11
The provisions of the present law are also to be applied to
such works which are created by any procedure similar to photography.
§. 12
The present law comes into force on 1 July 1876. In the case of
photographs taken before this date, this law will only apply if
the first legitimate photographic or mechanical reproduction of the
original photograph appeared before the enactment of the present
law.
Photographs which were already protected by state laws against
replication by state laws are to retain this protection, but the
latter can only be asserted for that extent of territory for which
it was accorded by the state laws in question.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand and
affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 10 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
_______________
Chapter 1 Page 9
11
(Nr. 1112) Statute concerning author's rights to designs and models.
Enacted on 11 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King of Prussia etc.
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of the
Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the following:
§. 1
The right to replicate an industrial design or model, wholly
or partially, is vested exclusively in its creator.
Only new and independent products are regarded as designs
and models in the sense of this law.
§. 2
In the case of those designs and models which are made by
draughtsmen, painters, sculptors etc. employed by a domestic
industrial enterprise by order and for account of the proprietor
of the industrial enterprise, the latter is, unless otherwise
specified contractually, to be regarded as the author of the
given designs and models.
§. 3
The author's right passes to his heirs. This right can,
either conditionally or unconditionally, by contract or by
testamentary disposal, be transferred to other persons.
§. 4
The free use of individual motifs in a design or model to
create a new design or model is not to be regarded as replication.
§. 5
Any replication of a design or model, which is made
without the consent of the right-holder (§§. 1-3) and with the
intention of distributing it, is forbidden. The following are also
to count as instances of illegal replication:
1. if the replica was made using a different method to
that employed when creating the original work, or
if the reproduction is intended for a different branch
of industry to that of the original;
2. if the replica is produced in different spatial
dimensions or colours to those of the original, or if
it differs from the original only in terms of such
modifications which can only be perceived on very
careful examination;
3. if the replica is made not directly from the original
work, but indirectly from a reproduction of the latter.
Chapter 1 Page 10
12
§. 6
Not to be regarded as illegal replicas are the following:
1. a single copy of a design or model, insofar as it was
made without any intention of distributing and utilising
it commercially;
2. the reproduction of designs which are intended for
surface products [e.g. fibre fabrics] in the form of three-
dimensional products, and vice versa;
3. the inclusion of reproductions of individual designs
or models in a literary work.
§. 7
The author of a design or model is to enjoy protection against
replication only if he has declared it so that it can be entered into
the design register, and has submitted a copy or reproduction of the
design etc. to the authority which has been charged with administering
the design register.
Such application and deposition must take place before any article
produced according to the given design or model is distributed.
§. 8
The protection against replication afforded by the present law
is granted to the author of the design or model, depending on his
choice, for 1-3 years from the date that it was declared (§. 7).
The author is entitled, upon payment of the fee specified in
§. 12 (3rd paragraph), to request an extension of the protection
term for up to a maximum of 15 years.
The author can exercise the right to which he is entitled
according to the above paragraph not just when declaring the design
or model, but also after the expiry of three- and ten-year terms
of protection.
§. 9
The design register is to be kept by the courts of justice
charged with administering the commercial register.
The author must make the application and deposition of his
design or model at the court of justice at his principal place
of business, and, if his firm is not registered, he must do this
at the court of justice with jurisdiction over his place of
residence.
Authors who do not have a branch of their firm within the
territory of the German Empire, and who are not resident there
either, must make this application and deposition at the
Commercial Court in Leipzig.
The designs or models may be submitted in one or several
packets, unsealed or sealed. Packets, however, must not contain
more than 50 designs or models, nor may they weigh more than
10 kilograms. More detailed instructions about how the design
register is to be administered will be issued by the Imperial
State Chancery.
Chapter 1 Page 11
13
Designs which are deposited in sealed packets are to be
opened three years after the application was made (§. 7), or,
if the protection term was shorter than this, after its expiry.
Registrations and extensions to terms of protection (§. 8, 2nd
paragraph) will be announced every month in the Imperial German
Gazette [Deutscher Reichsanzeiger].
The costs of this public notice will be borne by the applicant.
§. 10
Registrations in the design register are carried out
without any previous examination of the entitlement of the
applicant and of the accuracy of the information provided
with the application.
§. 11
Anyone is allowed to peruse the register and the deposited
unsealed designs and models, and to request certified extracts
from the design register. In disputes over whether a design or
model is protected or not against replication, for the purposes
of settling this question the sealed packets, too, can be
opened by the authority in charge of administering the design
register.
§. 12
All applications, transactions, certifications, attestations,
extracts etc. which are related to registration in the design
register are free of stamp duty.
For every registration and deposition of a single design or of
a packet with designs etc. (§. 9) a fee of 1 mark will be charged
for every year of the protection term applied for as long as this
does not exceed three years (§. 8, 1st paragraph).
If the author, in accordance with §. 8, 2nd paragraph, applies
for a longer term of protection, he must pay a fee of 2 mark for
each individual design or model for every additional year up to and
including the tenth year, and a fee of 3 mark for every year from
the eleventh to the fifteenth. For every certificate of registration,
as well as for any other extract from the design register a fee
of 1 mark is charged each time.
§. 13
The person who, in accordance with §. 7, has declared and
deposited a given design or model for registration in the design
register will be considered its author until the contrary is proven.
§. 14
The provisions of §§. 18-36, 38 of the Statute of 11 June 1870
concerning author's rights to works of literature etc. (Federal Law
Gazette 1870, p.339) are also to be accordingly applied to
the author's right to designs and models, provided that any replicas
in stock and the pieces of equipment used for illegal replication are
not destroyed, but are either, as their owner may decide and at his
expense, stripped of those features which allow them to be used for
this purpose, or stored for safekeeping by the authorities until the
expiry of the protection term.
Chapter 1 Page 12
14
The experts' associations which, in accordance with §.31
of the aforementioned Statute, are to submit reports on the
replication of designs or models, are to consist of artists,
manufacturers from various branches of industry, and other
persons who are familiar with the process of creating and
using designs and models.
§. 15
Civil lawsuits in which an action regarding damages,
enrichment, or confiscation, is founded upon the provisions
of this law, are to be treated as commercial cases within
the meaning of the Imperial and state laws.
§. 16
The present law is to apply to all designs and models
by native designers, insofar as the articles produced in
accordance with these designs or models are made within
the territory of the German Empire, but regardless of
whether these are marketed at home or abroad.
If foreign creators of designs or models have their
place of business within the territory of the German
Empire, they shall enjoy the protection of the present law
for all articles produced here.
Otherwise the protection of foreign designers is to
be determined in accordance with the existing international
agreements.
§. 17
The present law comes into force on 1 April 1876. It
will apply to all designs and models which are made after
its enactment.
Designs and models which were made before this date
are to enjoy the protection of this law only if the first
article produced according to the given design etc. begins
to be distributed only after the enactment of this law.
Designs and models which were already protected by
state laws against replication are to retain this
protection, but the latter can only be asserted for that
extent of territory for which it was accorded by the state
laws in question.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand
and affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 11 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
_________________________
Published by the Imperial State Chancery
[Unmodified reprint, Berlin 1904, Imperial Printing Office]
Translation by: Luis Sundkvist
Source: Max-Planck-Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt
Citation:
Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs, Berlin (1876), 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
IMPERIAL LAW GAZETTE.
1876
________
Contains
the laws, decrees etc. from 3 January to 25 December 1876,
together with a treaty of 1875.
(From No. 1107 up to and incl. No. 1155)
No. 1 up to and incl. No. 29
_____________________________
Berlin,
available at the Imperial Post and News Office.
Chapter 1 Page 2
(Nr. 1110) Law, concerning author's rights to works of the fine arts.
Issued on 9 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King
of Prussia etc
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of
the Bundesrat and the Reichstag the following:
The right to copy a work of the fine arts wholly or partially
is vested exclusively in its author.
The author's right passes to his heirs. This right can be
transferred conditionally or unconditionally to others by a contract
or testament.
The present law does not apply to architecture.
Not to be treated as replication is the free use of a work of the
fine arts to create a new work.
Every copy of a work of the fine arts which is produced without
the permission of the right-holder (§§. 1, 2) for the purpose of
distributing it, is forbidden. The following are also to be treated
as instances of illegal replication:
1. if, when producing the copy, a different method is
used to that employed for the original work;
2. if the copy was made not directly from the original work,
but indirectly from a replica of the latter;
3. if the copy of a work of the fine arts is located on a
work of architecture, industry, manufacture, artisanship
or the crafts;
4. if the author or the publisher, in violation of the
contract which they have established between themselves,
arrange for a new replica of the work;
5. if the publisher causes to be produced a greater number
of copies of a work than he is legally or contractually
entitled to.
The following do not count as instances of illegal replication:
a single copy of a work of the fine arts, insofar as it
is made with no intention of using it commercially. It is,
however, forbidden
Chapter 1 Page 3
to fix in any way whatsoever the author's name or
monogram to that single copy, failing which a
fine of up to 500 mark will be imposed;
2. the replication of a work of the graphic or
pictorial arts by means of sculpture, or vice versa;
3. the replication of works of the fine arts which are
located in or at streets or public squares. The copy
must, however, not be carried out in the same
artistic form;
4. the inclusion of reproductions of individual works of
the fine arts in a literary work, as long as the latter
constitutes the principal content and the illustrations
merely serve the purpose of elucidating the text. However,
the author of the original or the source used must be
indicated, failing which the penal provision in §. 24
of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's rights
to works of literature etc. (Federal Law Gazette 1870,
p.339) is to be applied.
If someone legitimately replicates a work of the fine arts created
by someone else, using a different artistic method to achieve this, he
has the right of an author (§. 1) to the work he has produced, even if
the original has already become public property.
If the author of a work of the fine arts hands over ownership to the
work to someone else, then from now on this no longer includes a transfer of
the right to replicate the work [Nachbildungsrecht]. In the case of
portraits and portrait busts, however, this right does pass to the person
who commissioned the work.
The owner of the work is not obliged to release it to its author or to
his legal successors for the purpose of arranging replicas of it.
The protection against replication provided by the present law is granted
for the duration of the author's life and for thirty years after his death.
In the case of works which are published, this duration of the legal
protection afforded is conditional on the author's true name being stated
in full on the work or expressed by otherwise distinguishable signs.
Works which are published either under a different name to the author's
true name, or for which no author is indicated at all, are protected against
replication for thirty years from the date of their publication. If within
these thirty years the author's true name is declared, either by himself or
by the legal successors he has appointed for this, so that it may be entered
in the register (§. 39 of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's
rights to works of literature etc. - Federal Law Gazette 1870, p.339),
this will result in the work acquiring the longer protection term
specified in the first paragraph of this article.
Chapter 1 Page 4
In the case of works which come out in various volumes or
instalments, the protection terms are calculated from the date of
publication of each one of these volumes or each one of these
instalments.
For works, however, which deal with a single task over one or
several volumes, which volumes are then to be regarded as linked
amongst themselves, the protection term does not commence until the
publication of the last volume or the last instalment.
However, if between the publication of individual volumes
or instalments a space of time greater than three years has elapsed,
the volumes, instalments etc. which appeared earlier are to be
treated as a whole work in their own right, and, similarly, any further
sequels appearing after these three years shall be regarded as a new
work.
Works which are not published until after the author's death
are to be protected against replication for thirty years, counted
from the date of his death.
Individual works of the fine arts which have appeared in
periodical works, such as journals, pocket-books, calendars etc.,
can, even without the consent of the editor or publisher of the work
in which they were included - provided that it has not been
agreed otherwise - be printed elsewhere by their authors after two
years have passed since the year in which they were first published.
When calculating the extent of the legal term of protection,
the year in which the author died and the calendar year in which
the work or translation was published are not counted as well.
If the author of a work of the fine arts allows it to be
replicated in a work of industry, manufacture, artisanship or the
crafts, the protection he will receive against replication in
works of industry etc. is not that provided in the present law,
but only that accorded by the Law concerning author's rights to
designs and models.
A right of escheat to the fiscal authorities or to other
persons entitled to derelict estates does not apply with regard
to the exclusive right of the author and his legal successors.
The provisions in §§. 18-42 of the Statute of 11 June 1870
concerning author's rights to works of literature etc. (Federal
Law Gazette 1870, p.339) are also to be applied accordingly
to works of the fine arts.
Chapter 1 Page 5
The experts' associations which according to §. 31 of the
said law are to submit reports on the replication of works of
the fine arts shall be made up of artists from different branches
of art, art dealers, craftsmen working in applied art, and other
connoisseurs of art.
The present law comes into force on 1 July 1876. All
previous legal provisions in force in the individual states of
the German Empire with regard to authors' rights to works of the
fine arts will cease to be valid from that very same day.
The present law is to apply to all works of the fine arts
that have appeared before its enactment, even if, according to
the state legislations which were previously in force, these
works did not enjoy any protection against replication.
Any reproductions of these works still available at the time
of the enactment of this law, and which it was permitted to
produce according to the hitherto valid legislation, may in
future continue to be distributed, even if their production is
forbidden by the present law.
Likewise, any pieces of equipment, such as moulds, plates,
stone, stereotype casts etc., still in existence at the time of
the enactment of this law, and which were legitimately created
in accordance with the laws previously in force, may in future
continue to be used to produce copies.
The governments of the states of the German Empire will draw
up an official inventory on the pieces of equipment and
installations which may still be used henceforth, and will arrange
for these items to be marked with a uniform stamp.
After expiry of the term specified for legalization,
all pieces of equipment for the aforementioned works which do not
bear such stamps are, on request of the injured parties, liable to
confiscation. More detailed instructions on the procedure to be
observed when drawing up the inventory and stamping these items,
will be forthcoming from the Imperial State Chancery.
The granting of privileges for the protection of author's
rights is no longer permitted.
The holder of a privilege issued before the enactment of
this law by the governments of individual German states is
entitled to decide whether he wants to make use of this privilege
or invoke the protection of the present law.
The protection afforded by such a privilege, however, can only
be enforced for the territory of those states which had originally
granted it.
Chapter 1 Page 6
Invoking the protection afforded by a privilege is conditional
on having printed the text of the privilege, either in full or
the main sections thereof, at the front of the work, or on having
indicated it on or behind the work's title-page. Where this is not
possible because of the nature of the work concerned, or where this
has not been done before, the privilege must, on pain of its
annulment, be declared within three monthsof the promulgation of this
law, so that it may be entered into the register and public notice
be made of it by the board of curators responsible for the maintenance
of the register.
The present law is to be applied to all works by native authors,
regardless of whether their works have appeared at home or abroad, or
if they have not even been published yet.
If works by foreign authors are brought out by native publishers,
then these covered by the protection afforded by the present law.
Those works by foreign authors which have been published in a
place that is geographically situated within the boundaries of the
former German Confederation, but not within those of the German
Empire shall enjoy the protection of this law, provided that the
legislation of the state concerned gives works which come out in
the German Empire the same level of protection as works by native
authors; however, the term of protection shall not exceed that which
is valid in that state itself. The same applies to unpublished works
by authors who are not citizens of the German Empire, but who do come
from the territory of the former German Confederation.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand and
affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 9 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
_____________________
(Nr. 1111) Statute concerning the protection of photographs against
unauthorised reproduction. Enacted on 10 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King of Prussia etc.
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of the
Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the following:
The right to fully or partially reproduce by mechanical means a
work which has been produced through photography is vested exclusively
in the person who shot the photograph.
Chapter 1 Page 7
The present law does not apply to photographs of such
works which are still legally protected against reprinting
and reproduction.
The free use of a work produced by means of photography
in order to create a new work is not to be regarded as a case
of replication.
The mechanical reproduction of a photographic work, which is
made without the consent of the right-holder (§§. 1 and 7) and
with the intention of distributing it, is forbidden.
The reproduction of a photographic work that is located on
a work of industry, manufacture, artisanship or the crafts, is
not to be regarded as a forbidden replica.
Every legitimate photographic or other mechanical reproduction
of the original photograph must contain (either on the image itself
or on the mounting board) the following:
a) the name (or the company name) of the creator of the
original photograph, or of its publisher, and
b) the place of residence of the photographer or publisher,
c) the calendar year in which the legitimate reproduction
first appeared,
failing which no protection against replication will apply.
The protection given by the present law against replication is
granted to the creator of the photographic work for five years. This
term is calculated from the end of the calendar year in which the
legitimate photographic or other mechanical reproductions of the
original photograph first appeared.
If such reproductions do not appear, then the five-year term is
to be calculated from the end of the calendar year in which the
negative of the photograph came into existence.
In the case of works which come out in several volumes or
instalments, §. 14 of the Statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's
rights to works of literature etc. is to be applied.
The right, as defined in §. 1, of the creator of a photographic
work passes to his heirs. Likewise, this right can be transferred by
the author or his heirs, wholly or partially, by contract or by
testamentary disposal, to other persons. In the case of photographic
portraits, this right passes automatically to the person who
commissioned it, without any need for a contract.
Chapter 1 Page 8
If someone reproduces by means of pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural art a photograph created by another person, he is
to enjoy, with regard to the work he has produced, the right of
an author in accordance with §. 7 of the Statute of 9 January
concerning author's rights to works of the fine arts.
The provisions contained in §§. 18-38, 44, 61 (1st paragraph)
of the statute of 11 June 1870 concerning author's rights to works
of literature etc. are also to apply to the exclusive right of
replication and reproduction held by the creator of photographic
works.
The experts' associations which are to submit reports about
the reproduction of photographs are to be made up of artists from
various branches of art, as well as art dealers, other connoisseurs
and photographers.
The provisions of the present law are also to be applied to
such works which are created by any procedure similar to photography.
The present law comes into force on 1 July 1876. In the case of
photographs taken before this date, this law will only apply if
the first legitimate photographic or mechanical reproduction of the
original photograph appeared before the enactment of the present
law.
Photographs which were already protected by state laws against
replication by state laws are to retain this protection, but the
latter can only be asserted for that extent of territory for which
it was accorded by the state laws in question.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand and
affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 10 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
Chapter 1 Page 9
(Nr. 1112) Statute concerning author's rights to designs and models.
Enacted on 11 January 1876.
WE, WILHELM, by the Grace of God German Emperor, King of Prussia etc.
decree in the name of the German Empire, with the approval of the
Bundesrat and the Reichstag, the following:
The right to replicate an industrial design or model, wholly
or partially, is vested exclusively in its creator.
Only new and independent products are regarded as designs
and models in the sense of this law.
In the case of those designs and models which are made by
draughtsmen, painters, sculptors etc. employed by a domestic
industrial enterprise by order and for account of the proprietor
of the industrial enterprise, the latter is, unless otherwise
specified contractually, to be regarded as the author of the
given designs and models.
The author's right passes to his heirs. This right can,
either conditionally or unconditionally, by contract or by
testamentary disposal, be transferred to other persons.
The free use of individual motifs in a design or model to
create a new design or model is not to be regarded as replication.
Any replication of a design or model, which is made
without the consent of the right-holder (§§. 1-3) and with the
intention of distributing it, is forbidden. The following are also
to count as instances of illegal replication:
1. if the replica was made using a different method to
that employed when creating the original work, or
if the reproduction is intended for a different branch
of industry to that of the original;
2. if the replica is produced in different spatial
dimensions or colours to those of the original, or if
it differs from the original only in terms of such
modifications which can only be perceived on very
careful examination;
3. if the replica is made not directly from the original
work, but indirectly from a reproduction of the latter.
Chapter 1 Page 10
Not to be regarded as illegal replicas are the following:
1. a single copy of a design or model, insofar as it was
made without any intention of distributing and utilising
it commercially;
2. the reproduction of designs which are intended for
surface products [e.g. fibre fabrics] in the form of three-
dimensional products, and vice versa;
3. the inclusion of reproductions of individual designs
or models in a literary work.
The author of a design or model is to enjoy protection against
replication only if he has declared it so that it can be entered into
the design register, and has submitted a copy or reproduction of the
design etc. to the authority which has been charged with administering
the design register.
Such application and deposition must take place before any article
produced according to the given design or model is distributed.
The protection against replication afforded by the present law
is granted to the author of the design or model, depending on his
choice, for 1-3 years from the date that it was declared (§. 7).
The author is entitled, upon payment of the fee specified in
§. 12 (3rd paragraph), to request an extension of the protection
term for up to a maximum of 15 years.
The author can exercise the right to which he is entitled
according to the above paragraph not just when declaring the design
or model, but also after the expiry of three- and ten-year terms
of protection.
The design register is to be kept by the courts of justice
charged with administering the commercial register.
The author must make the application and deposition of his
design or model at the court of justice at his principal place
of business, and, if his firm is not registered, he must do this
at the court of justice with jurisdiction over his place of
residence.
Authors who do not have a branch of their firm within the
territory of the German Empire, and who are not resident there
either, must make this application and deposition at the
Commercial Court in Leipzig.
The designs or models may be submitted in one or several
packets, unsealed or sealed. Packets, however, must not contain
more than 50 designs or models, nor may they weigh more than
10 kilograms. More detailed instructions about how the design
register is to be administered will be issued by the Imperial
State Chancery.
Chapter 1 Page 11
Designs which are deposited in sealed packets are to be
opened three years after the application was made (§. 7), or,
if the protection term was shorter than this, after its expiry.
Registrations and extensions to terms of protection (§. 8, 2nd
paragraph) will be announced every month in the Imperial German
Gazette [Deutscher Reichsanzeiger].
The costs of this public notice will be borne by the applicant.
Registrations in the design register are carried out
without any previous examination of the entitlement of the
applicant and of the accuracy of the information provided
with the application.
Anyone is allowed to peruse the register and the deposited
unsealed designs and models, and to request certified extracts
from the design register. In disputes over whether a design or
model is protected or not against replication, for the purposes
of settling this question the sealed packets, too, can be
opened by the authority in charge of administering the design
register.
All applications, transactions, certifications, attestations,
extracts etc. which are related to registration in the design
register are free of stamp duty.
For every registration and deposition of a single design or of
a packet with designs etc. (§. 9) a fee of 1 mark will be charged
for every year of the protection term applied for as long as this
does not exceed three years (§. 8, 1st paragraph).
If the author, in accordance with §. 8, 2nd paragraph, applies
for a longer term of protection, he must pay a fee of 2 mark for
each individual design or model for every additional year up to and
including the tenth year, and a fee of 3 mark for every year from
the eleventh to the fifteenth. For every certificate of registration,
as well as for any other extract from the design register a fee
of 1 mark is charged each time.
The person who, in accordance with §. 7, has declared and
deposited a given design or model for registration in the design
register will be considered its author until the contrary is proven.
The provisions of §§. 18-36, 38 of the Statute of 11 June 1870
concerning author's rights to works of literature etc. (Federal Law
Gazette 1870, p.339) are also to be accordingly applied to
the author's right to designs and models, provided that any replicas
in stock and the pieces of equipment used for illegal replication are
not destroyed, but are either, as their owner may decide and at his
expense, stripped of those features which allow them to be used for
this purpose, or stored for safekeeping by the authorities until the
expiry of the protection term.
Chapter 1 Page 12
The experts' associations which, in accordance with §.31
of the aforementioned Statute, are to submit reports on the
replication of designs or models, are to consist of artists,
manufacturers from various branches of industry, and other
persons who are familiar with the process of creating and
using designs and models.
Civil lawsuits in which an action regarding damages,
enrichment, or confiscation, is founded upon the provisions
of this law, are to be treated as commercial cases within
the meaning of the Imperial and state laws.
The present law is to apply to all designs and models
by native designers, insofar as the articles produced in
accordance with these designs or models are made within
the territory of the German Empire, but regardless of
whether these are marketed at home or abroad.
If foreign creators of designs or models have their
place of business within the territory of the German
Empire, they shall enjoy the protection of the present law
for all articles produced here.
Otherwise the protection of foreign designers is to
be determined in accordance with the existing international
agreements.
The present law comes into force on 1 April 1876. It
will apply to all designs and models which are made after
its enactment.
Designs and models which were made before this date
are to enjoy the protection of this law only if the first
article produced according to the given design etc. begins
to be distributed only after the enactment of this law.
Designs and models which were already protected by
state laws against replication are to retain this
protection, but the latter can only be asserted for that
extent of territory for which it was accorded by the state
laws in question.
In proof of which We have signed this with our own hand
and affixed the Imperial Seal to it.
Issued in Berlin, 11 January 1876.
(place of the seal) WILHELM.
Prince Bismarck.
_________________________
Published by the Imperial State Chancery
[Unmodified reprint, Berlin 1904, Imperial Printing Office]
Translation by: Luis Sundkvist