Browse Documents By...
Original Language...
Documents For...
Browse Commentaries By...
Browse Referred Persons By...
Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books, Basel (1738)
Source: Universitätsbibliothek Freie Universität Berlin 04.06.03.05
Citation:
Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books, Basel (1738), 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
This is also confirmed by the fact that such an exclusion and investigation is only
then forbidden when it takes place for no legitimate reason and merely by an arbitrary
decision on the part of colleagues who work in the same trade; but not so when it
ensues from a given treaty right and the statutes of the guild, and is in the best
interests of the public weal and the art of the handicraft in question. No injustice
whatsoever is committed if a craftsman, after having been admonished in a fitting
manner, is eventually excluded - be it by his own colleagues, or by the local
authorities - because he is guilty of not having marshalled his actions in accordance
with the regulations of the guild which he had joined, despite having sworn loyalty
and obedience to it. That members of a guild are authorised to issue statutes
concerning their craft, follows from Law no. 4 of the "Digesta de Collegiis et
Corporibus" ["Digest of Laws on Guilds and Corporations"] (XLVII, 22), which states
that: "Associates, that is, those who belong to the same guild - what the
Greeks call έταιρειαν [association] - are granted by law the competence to set
themselves regulations as they wish, as long as these do not spoil anything that is
enshrined in public law." Nevertheless, it is customary to request a confirmation
[for such an exclusion of a colleague] from the supreme (sovereign) authority of the
territory where this takes place.*
4. In order to avert the damage which honest printers have reason to fear
from the illicit reprinting of books, the following expedient has also been found to
be quite effective: namely, publicly announcing one's intention to publish a certain
book, and, along with this, offering potential buyers the chance to make a so-called
prepayment in advance, under certain conditions, as was discussed in the preceding
section.
Of course, there is no doubt that much more would still have to be thought
out in order to prevent the illicit reprinting of books. But since such a task would
require an extensive and leisurely treatment, which would force me to step out of
the bounds that I had drawn for myself in this dissertation, I therefore hand over
what remains to be investigated to those whose interest in the matter is even greater,
or who are better equipped than me in intellectual ability.
FINIS
____________________________________________
* Cf. in this respect David Mevius (1609-1670), Decisiones ad Pandectas, Part 3,
Decision no. 284.
No Transcription available.
Source: Universitätsbibliothek Freie Universität Berlin 04.06.03.05
Citation:
Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books, Basel (1738), 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
This is also confirmed by the fact that such an exclusion and investigation is only
then forbidden when it takes place for no legitimate reason and merely by an arbitrary
decision on the part of colleagues who work in the same trade; but not so when it
ensues from a given treaty right and the statutes of the guild, and is in the best
interests of the public weal and the art of the handicraft in question. No injustice
whatsoever is committed if a craftsman, after having been admonished in a fitting
manner, is eventually excluded - be it by his own colleagues, or by the local
authorities - because he is guilty of not having marshalled his actions in accordance
with the regulations of the guild which he had joined, despite having sworn loyalty
and obedience to it. That members of a guild are authorised to issue statutes
concerning their craft, follows from Law no. 4 of the "Digesta de Collegiis et
Corporibus" ["Digest of Laws on Guilds and Corporations"] (XLVII, 22), which states
that: "Associates, that is, those who belong to the same guild - what the
Greeks call έταιρειαν [association] - are granted by law the competence to set
themselves regulations as they wish, as long as these do not spoil anything that is
enshrined in public law." Nevertheless, it is customary to request a confirmation
[for such an exclusion of a colleague] from the supreme (sovereign) authority of the
territory where this takes place.*
4. In order to avert the damage which honest printers have reason to fear
from the illicit reprinting of books, the following expedient has also been found to
be quite effective: namely, publicly announcing one's intention to publish a certain
book, and, along with this, offering potential buyers the chance to make a so-called
prepayment in advance, under certain conditions, as was discussed in the preceding
section.
Of course, there is no doubt that much more would still have to be thought
out in order to prevent the illicit reprinting of books. But since such a task would
require an extensive and leisurely treatment, which would force me to step out of
the bounds that I had drawn for myself in this dissertation, I therefore hand over
what remains to be investigated to those whose interest in the matter is even greater,
or who are better equipped than me in intellectual ability.
____________________________________________
* Cf. in this respect David Mevius (1609-1670), Decisiones ad Pandectas, Part 3,
Decision no. 284.
No Transcription available.