

Produced by Michael S. Hart.



The Statute of Anne

CONTENTS

1. Preparer's notes
2. A Modern Formatted Statute of Anne
3. A Transcription from the Original Statute of Anne




Statute of Anne: Preparer's Notes

Created from various public domain versions.


Repetition of last words on pages eliminated,
Latin intro and extro translated into English.
End of line hyphenations removed for searching.
Typo of "peny" for "penny" has been corrected,
with the elimination of the accompanying sic.
Also "seasonable" replaced by "reasonable" with
the removal of that sic, as well.  "Queens" is
replaced with "queen's", and "majesties" would
become "majesty's", "entred" becomes "entered"
and these typos were often in multiple places.

"Vice-Chancellors" and "Vice Chancellors" both
appeared so I chose "Vice Chancellors" just to
make searches more simple.

I have not changed any of the apparently quite
random capitalizations [random in comparisons,
I should say to German, etc.], nor changed any
of the more different spellings, as inhaunced.

I would like to comment just how obvious it is
that the rights of the authors was an "add on"
to this document, taking place only on a sixth
sheet containing only two small paragraphs, as
this makes it even more obvious just how every
right was originally for "The Stationers," who
are now descended as by The World Intellectual
Property Organization through various means.

This law was proposed and defeated 250 years--
from its first draft by The Stationers just as
The Gutenberg Press got going to this period.

All monarchs, and Oliver Cromwell, refused it,
on grounds it gave too much to The Stationers,
and left too little to the public, as per:

Henry VI        1 Sep 1422    4 Mar 1461
Edward IV       4 Mar 1461    9 Apr 1483
[Henry VI - restored 9 Oct 1470 to c. Apr 1471]
Edward V        9 Apr 1483   25 Jun 1483
Richard III    26 Jun 1483   22 Aug 1485
Henry VII      22 Aug 1485   21 Apr 1509
Henry VIII     22 Apr 1509   28 Jan 1547
Edward VI      28 Jan 1547    6 Jul 1553
Mary            6 Jul 1553   24 Jul 1554
Philip & Mary  25 Jul 1554   17 Nov 1558
Elizabeth I    17 Nov 1558   24 Mar 1603
James I        24 Mar 1603   27 Mar 1625
Charles I      27 Mar 1625   30 Jan 1649
Commonwealth   30 Jan 1649   29 May 1660
Charles II     [30 Jan 1649]  6 Feb 1685
James II        6 Feb 1685   11 Dec 1688
William & Mary 13 Feb 1689    8 Mar 1702
                 [Mary died  27 Dec 1694]
William III    27 Dec 1694    8 Mar 1702
Anne            8 Mar 1702    1 Aug 1714


Please note that this 250 year span included reigns
from the son of Henry V of Shakespearian fame and a
greater Shakespearian epic of Richard III, to those
six wives of Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, and a
host of the most turbulent reigns of UK history and
in all this time not one of these rulers would give
The Stationers such great power that has now passed
down, not only unchecked, but greatly enhanced over
the next 300 years.  The average copyright moved to
about 100 years in length in that time from 15 year
average original terms [nearly none were renewed].

My own words are mine alone, though I appreciate it
when people offer corrections, advice, etc., though
I don't always take it.  However, I do always offer
to publish their own version along with mine.

Michael S. Hart
Founder
Project Gutenberg,
Inventor of eBooks





A Modern Formatted Statute of Anne

The Statute of Anne


Page 1


In The Eighth Year Of The Reign Of Queen Anne.



An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of
Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of such Copies, during the
Times therein mentioned.

Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other Persons, have of late
frequently taken the Liberty of Printing, Reprinting, and Publishing, or
causing to be Printed, Reprinted, and Published Books, and other
Writings, without the Consent of the Authors or Proprietors of such
Books and Writings, to their very great Detriment, and too often to the
Ruin of them and their Families: For Preventing therefore such Practices
for the future, and for the Encouragement of Learned Men to Compose and
Write useful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be Enacted,
and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in
this present Parliament Assembled, and by the Authority of the same,
That from and after the Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred
and ten, the Author of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath not
Transferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book or Books, Share
or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or
Printers, or other Person or Persons, who hath or have Purchased or
Acquired the Copy or Copies of any Book or Books, in order to Print or
Reprint the same, shall have the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such
Book and Books for the Term of One and twenty Years, to Commence from
the said Tenth Day of April, and no longer; and that the Author of any
Book or Books already Composed and not Printed and Published, or that
shall hereafter be Composed, and his Assignee, or Assigns, shall have
the sole Liberty of Printing and Reprinting such Book and Books for the
Term of fourteen


page 2

Years, to Commence from the Day of the First Publishing the same, and no
longer; And that if any other Bookseller, Printer, or other Person
whatsoever, from and after the Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven
hundred and ten, within the times Granted and Limited by this Act, as
aforesaid, shall Print, Reprint, or Import, or cause to be Printed,
Reprinted, or Imported any such Book or Books, without the Consent of
the Proprietor or Proprietors thereof first had and obtained in Writing,

Signed in the Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses; or knowing the
same to be so Printed or Reprinted, without the Consent of the
Proprietors, shall Sell, Publish, or Expose to Sale, or cause to be
Sold, Published, or Exposed to Sale, any such Book or Books, without
such Consent first had and obtained, as aforesaid, Then such Offender or
Offenders shall Forfeit such Book or Books, and all and every Sheet or
Sheets, being part of such Book or Books, to the Proprietor or
Proprietors of the Copy thereof, who shall forthwith Damask and make
Waste-Paper of them: And further, That every such Offender or Offenders,
shall Forfeit One Penny for every sheet which shall be found in his,
her, or their Custody, either Printed or Printing, Published or Exposed
to Sale, contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Act, the one
Moiety thereof to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, Her Heirs and
Successors, and the other Moiety thereof to any Person or Persons that
shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesty's Courts
of Record at Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or
Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege, or
Protection, or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.

And whereas many Persons may through Ignorance Offend against this Act,
unless some Provision be made whereby the Property in every such Book,
as is intended by this Act to be Secured to the proprietor or
Proprietors thereof, may be ascertained, as likewise the Consent of such
Proprietor or Proprietors for the Printing or Reprinting of such Book or
Books may from time to time be known; Be it therefore further Enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained shall be
construed to extend to subject any Bookseller, Printer, or other Person
whatsoever, to the Forfeitures or Penalties therein mentioned, for or by
reason of the Printing or Reprinting of any Book or Books without such
Consent, as aforesaid, unless the Title to the Copy of such Book or
Books hereafter Published shall, before such Publication be Entered, in
the Register-Book of the Company of Stationers, in such manner as hath
been usual, which Register-Book shall at all times be kept at the Hall
of the said Company, and unless such Consent of the Proprietor or
Proprietors be in like manner Entered, as aforesaid, for every of which
several Entries, Six Pence shall be Paid, and no more; which said
Register-Book may, at all Reasonable and Convenient times, be Resorted
to, and Inspected by any Bookseller, Printer, or other Person, for the
Purposes before mentioned, without

Page 3

any Fee or Reward; and the Clerk of the said Company of Stationers,
shall, when and as often as thereunto required, give a Certificate under
his Hand of such Entry or Entries, and for every such Certificate, may
take a Fee not exceeding Six Pence.

Provided nevertheless, That if the Clerk of the said Company of
Stationers, for the time being shall Refuse or Neglect to Register, or
make such Entry or Entries, or to give such Certificate, being thereunto
Required by the Author or Proprietor of such Copy or Copies, in the
Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses, That then such Person and
Persons so refusing, Notice being first duly given of such Refusal, by
an Advertisement in the Gazette, shall have the like Benefit, as if such
Entry or Entries, Certificate or Certificates had been duly made and
given; and that the Clerks so refusing, shall, for any such Offence,
Forfeit to the Proprietor of such Copy or Copies the Sum of Twenty
Pounds, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesty's Courts of Record at
Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in which
no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege or Protection, or more than one
Imparlance shall be allowed.

Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby further Enacted by the Authority
aforesaid, That if any Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers,
shall, after the said Five and twentieth Day of March, One thousand
seven hundred and ten, set a Price upon, or Sell or Expose to Sale, any
Book or Books at such a Price or Rate as shall be Conceived by any
Person or Persons to be High and Unreasonable; It shall and may be
Lawful for any Person or Persons to make Complaint thereof to the Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; the Lord Chancellor, or
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Great Britain for the time being; the
Lord Bishop of London for the time being; the Lord Chief Justice of the
Court of Queen's Bench, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common
Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, for the time
being; the Vice Chancellors of the Two Universities for the time being,
in that part of Great Britain called England; the Lord President of the
Sessions for the time being; the Lord Justice General for the time
being; the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for the time being; the
Rector of the College of Edinburgh for the time being, in that part of
Great Britain called Scotland; who, or any one of them, shall and have
hereby full Power and Authority from time to time, to Send for, Summon,
or Call before him or them such Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or
Printers, and to Examine and Enquire of the reason of the Dearness and
Inhauncement of the Price or Value of such Book or Books by him or them
so Sold or Exposed to Sale; and if upon such Enquiry and Examination it
shall be found, that the Price of such Book or Books is Inhaunced, or

Page 4

any wise too High or Unreasonable, Then and in such case, the said
Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, Bishop of
London, two Chief Justices, Chief Baron, Vice Chancellors of the
Universities, in that part of Great Britain called England, and the said
Lord President of the Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron,
and Rector of the College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain
called Scotland, or any one or more of them, so Enquiring and Examining,
have hereby full Power and Authority to Reform and Redress the same, and
to Limit and Settle the Price of every such Printed Book and Books, from
time to time, according to the best of their Judgements, and as to them
shall seem Just and Reasonable; and in case of Alteration of the Rate or
Price from what was Set or Demanded by such Bookseller or Booksellers,
Printer or Printers, to Award and Order such Bookseller and Booksellers,
Printer and Printers, to Pay all the Costs and Charges that the Person
or Persons so Complaining shall be put unto, by reason of such
Complaint, and of the causing such Rate or Price to be so Limited and
Settled; all which shall be done by the said Archbishop of Canterbury,
Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper, Bishop of London, two Chief Justices,
Chief Baron, Vice-Chancellors of the Two Universities, in that part of
Great Britain called England, and the said Lord President of the
Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of the
College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or
any one of them, by Writing under their Hands and Seals, and thereof
Publick Notice shall be forthwith given by the said Bookseller or
Booksellers, Printer or Printers, by an Advertisement in the Gazette;
and if any Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, shall, after
such Settlement made of the said Rate and Price, Sell, or expose to Sale
any Book or Books, at a higher or greater Price than what shall have
been so Limited and Settled, as aforesaid, then and in every such case
such Bookseller and Booksellers, Printer and Printers, shall Forfeit the
Sum of Five Pounds for every such Book so by him, her, or them Sold or
Exposed to Sale; One Moiety thereof to the Queen's most Excellent
Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety to any Person or
Persons that shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered, with Costs of
Suit, in any of Her Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster, by Action
of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign,
Privilege or Protection, or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.

Provided always, and it is hereby Enacted, That Nine Copies of each Book
or Books, upon the best Paper, that from and after the said Tenth Day of
April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, shall be Printed and
Published, as aforesaid, or Reprinted and Published with Additions,
shall, by the Printer and Printers thereof, be Delivered to the
Warehouse-Keeper of the

Page 5

said Company of Stationers for the time being, at the Hall of the said
Company, before such Publication made, for the Use of the Royal Library,
the Libraries of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Libraries
of the Four Universities in Scotland, the Library of Sion College in
London, and the Library commonly called the Library belonging to the
Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh respectively; which said
Warehouse-Keeper, is hereby required, within Ten Days after Demand by
the Keepers of the respective Libraries, or any Person or Persons by
them or any of them Authorised to Demand the said Copy, to Deliver the
same, for the Use of the aforesaid Libraries; and if any Proprietor,
Bookseller or Printer, or the said Warehouse-Keeper of the said Company
of Stationers, shall not observe the Direction of this Act therein, That
then he and they, so making Default in not Delivering the said Printed
Copies, as aforesaid, shall Forfeit, besides the value of the said
Printed Copies, the sum of Five Pounds for every Copy not so Delivered,
as also the value of the said Printed Copy not so Delivered, the same to
be Recovered by the Queen's Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and by
the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of any of the said Universities,
and by the President and Fellows of Sion College, and the said Faculty
of Advocates at Edinburgh, with their full Costs respectively.

Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if any Person or
Persons incur the Penalties contained in this Act, in that part of Great
Britain called Scotland, they shall be recoverable by any Action before
the Court of Session there.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained do extend, or shall be
construed to extend, to Prohibit the Importation, Vending, or Selling of
any Books in Greek, Latin, or any other Foreign Language Printed beyond
the Seas; Any thing in this Act contained to the contrary
notwithstanding.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Action
or Suit shall be Commenced or Brought against any Person or Persons
whatsoever, for doing or causing to be done any thing in pursuance of
this Act, the Defendants in such Action may Plead the General Issue, and
give the Special Matter in Evidence; and if upon such Action a Verdict
be given for the Defendant, or the Plaintiff become Nonsuited, or
Discontinue his Action, then the Defendant shall have and recover his
full Costs, for which he shall have the same Remedy as a Defendant in
any case by Law hath.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend, or be
construed to extend, either to Prejudice or Confirm any Right that the
said Universities, or any of them, or any Person or Persons have, or
claim to have, to the Printing or Reprinting any Book or Copy already
Printed, or hereafter to be Printed.


Page 6

Provided nevertheless, That all Actions, Suits, Bills, Indictments, or
Informations for any Offence that shall be Committed against this Act,
shall be Brought, Sued, and Commenced within Three Months next after
such Offence Committed, or else the same shall be Void and of none
Effect.

Provided always, That after the Expiration of the said Term of Fourteen
Years, the sole Right of Printing or Disposing of Copies shall return to
the Authors thereof, if they are then Living, for another Term of
Fourteen Years.


THE END




A Transcription from the Original Statute of Anne

The Statute of Anne


Page 1


Anno Octavo
AnnRegin

An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vest-
ing the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or
Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein
mentioned.

Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other
Persons, have of late frequently taken
the Liberty of Printing, Reprinting,
and Publishing, or causing to be Print-
ed, Reprinted, and Published Books,
and other Writings, without the Con-
sent of the Authors or Proprietors of
such Books and Writings, to their
very great Detriment, and too often
to the Ruin of them and their Fami-
lies: For Preventing therefore such
Practices for the future, and for the
Encouragement of Learned Men to Compose and Write use-
ful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be En-
acted, and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled,
and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the
Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, the
Author of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath not
Transferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book or
Books, Share or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, or other Person or Persons, who
hath or have Purchased or Acquired the Copy or Copies of any
Book or Books, in order to Print or Reprint the same, shall
have the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such Book and
Books for the Term of One and twenty Years, to Commence
from the said Tenth Day of April, and no longer; and that
the Author of any Book or Books already Composed and not
Printed and Published, or that shall hereafter be Composed, and
his Assignee, or Assigns, shall have the sole Liberty of Printing
and Reprinting such Book and Books for the Term of four
-teen


page 2

teen Years, to Commence from the Day of the First Publish-
ing the same, and no longer; And that if any other Bookseller,
Printer, or other Person whatsoever, from and after the Tenth
Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, within the
times Granted and Limited by this Act, as aforesaid, shall Print,
Reprint, or Import, or cause to be Printed, Reprinted, or Imported
any such Book or Books, without the Consent of the Proprietor or
Proprietors thereof first had and obtained in Writing, Signed
in the Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses; or knowing
the same to be so Printed or Reprinted, without the Consent of
the Proprietors, shall Sell, Publish, or Expose to Sale, or cause
to be Sold, Published, or Exposed to Sale, any such Book or
Books, without such Consent first had and obtained, as afore-
said, Then such Offender or Offenders shall Forfeit such Book or
Books, and all and every Sheet or Sheets, being part of such
Book or Books, to the Proprietor or Proprietors of the Copy
thereof, who shall forthwith Damask and make Waste-Paper of
them: And further, That every such Offender or Offenders, shall
Forfeit One Peny [sic] for every sheet which shall be found in his,
her, or their Custody, either Printed or Printing, Published or
Exposed to Sale, contrary to the true intent and meaning of
this Act, the one Moiety thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent
Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety
thereof to any Person or Persons that shall Sue for the same,
to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at
Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information,
in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege, or Protection,
or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.

And whereas many Persons may through Ignorance Offend
against this Act, unless some Provision be made whereby the Pro-
perty in every such Book, as is intended by this Act to be Se-
cured to the proprietor or Proprietors thereof, may be ascertain-
ed, as likewise the Consent of such Proprietor or Proprietors for the
Printing or Reprinting of such Book or Books may from time
to time be known; Be it therefore further Enacted by the Au-
thority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained shall be
construed to extend to subject any Bookseller, Printer, or other
Person whatsoever, to the Forfeitures or Penalties therein men-
tioned, for or by reason of the Printing or Reprinting of any Book
or Books without such Consent, as aforesaid, unless the Title
to the Copy of such Book or Books hereafter Published shall,
before such Publication be Entred [sic], in the Register-Book of the
Company of Stationers, in such manner as hath been usual,
which Register-Book shall at all times be kept at the Hall of
the said Company, and unless such Consent of the Proprietor
or Proprietors be in like manner Entred [sic], as aforesaid, for every
of which several Entries, Six Pence shall be Paid, and no
more; which said Register-Book may, at all Seasonable [sic; should be:

Reasonable] and
Convenient times, be Resorted to, and Inspected by any Book-
seller, Printer, or other Person, for the Purposes before menti-
oned,

Page 3

oned, without any Fee or Reward; and the Clerk of the said
Company of Stationers, shall, when and as often as thereunto
required, give a Certificate under his Hand of such Entry or En-
tries, and for every such Certificate, may take a Fee not exceed-
ing Six Pence.

Provided nevertheless, That if the Clerk of the said Com-
pany of Stationers, for the time being shall Refuse or Neglect to
Register, or make such Entry or Entries, or to give such Cer-
tificate, being thereunto Required by the Author or Proprietor of
such Copy or Copies, in the Presence of Two or more Credible
Witnesses, That then such Person and Persons so refusing, No-
tice being first duly given of such Refusal, by an Advertisement
in the Gazette, shall have the like Benefit, as if such Entry or
Entries, Certificate or Certificates had been duly made and gi-
ven; and that the Clerks so refusing, shall, for any such Offence,
Forfeit to the Proprietor of such Copy or Copies the Sum of
Twenty Pounds, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic]
Courts of Record at Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill,
Plaint, or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign,
Privilege or Protection, or more than one Imparlance shall
be allowed.

Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby further Enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Bookseller or Booksellers,
Printer or Printers, shall, after the said Five and twentieth
Day of March, One thousand seven hundred and ten, set a
Price upon, or Sell or Expose to Sale, any Book or Books
at such a Price or Rate as shall be Conceived by any Person
or Persons to be High and Unreasonable; It shall and may be
Lawful for any Person or Persons to make Complaint thereof
to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; the
Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Great
Britain for the time being; the Lord Bishop of London for the
time being; the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queens [sic]
Bench, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common
Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, for
the time being; the Vice-Chancellors of the Two Universities
for the time being, in that part of Great Britain called England;
the Lord President of the Sessions for the time being; the Lord
Justice General for the time being; the Lord Chief Baron of
the Exchequer for the time being; the Rector of the College
of Edinburgh for the time being, in that part of Great Britain
called Scotland; who, or any one of them, shall and have hereby full
Power and Authority from time to time, to Send for, Sum-
mon, or Call before him or them such Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, and to Examine and Enquire of
the reason of the Dearness and Inhauncement of the Price or Va-
lue of such Book or Books by him or them so Sold or Exposed to
Sale; and if upon such Enquiry and Examination it shall be
found, that the Price of such Book or Books is Inhaunced, or
any

Page 4

any wise too High or Unreasonable, Then and in such case, the
said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper,
Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief Baron, Vice-
Chancellors of the Universities, in that part of Great Britain called
England, and the said Lord President of the Sessions, Lord Justice
General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of the College of
Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or any one
or more of them, so Enquiring and Examining, have hereby full
Power and Authority to Reform and Redress the same, and to
Limit and Settle the Price of every such Printed Book
and Books, from time to time, according to the best of their
Judgements, and as to them shall seem Just and Reasonable;
and in case of Alteration of the Rate or Price from what
was Set or Demanded by such Bookseller or Booksellers,
Printer or Printers, to Award and Order such Bookseller and
Booksellers, Printer and Printers, to Pay all the Costs and
Charges that the Person or Persons so Complaining shall be
put unto, by reason of such Complaint, and of the causing such
Rate or Price to be so Limited and Settled; all which shall be
done by the said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor, or
Lord Keeper, Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief
Baron, Vice Chancellors of the Two Universities, in that part
of Great Britain called England, and the said Lord President of the
Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of
the College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called
Scotland, or any one of them, by Writing under their Hands
and Seals, and thereof Publick Notice shall be forthwith given
by the said Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, by
an Advertisement in the Gazette; and if any Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, shall, after such Settlement made
of the said Rate and Price, Sell, or expose to Sale any Book
or Books, at a higher or greater Price than what shall have been
so Limited and Settled, as aforesaid, then and in every such
case such Bookseller and Booksellers, Printer and Printers,
shall Forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds for every such Book so
by him, her, or them Sold or Exposed to Sale; One Moiety
thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent Majesty, Her Heirs and
Successors, and the other Moiety to any Person or Persons that
shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered, with Costs of Suit,
in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at Westminster, by Acti-
on of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in which no Wager
of Law, Essoign, Privilege or Protection, or more than one Im-
parlance, shall be allowed.

Provided always, and it is hereby Enacted, That Nine Copies
of each Book or Books, upon the best Paper, that from and af-
ter the said Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred
and ten, shall be Printed and Published, as aforesaid, or Re-
printed and Published with Additions, shall, by the Printer and
Printers thereof, be Delivered to the Warehouse-Keeper of the
said

Page 5

said Company of Stationers for the time being, at the Hall of
the said Company, before such Publication made, for the Use of
the Royal Library, the Libraries of the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge, the Libraries of the Four Universities in Scot-
land, the Library of Sion College in London, and the Library
commonly called the Library belonging to the Faculty of Advo-
cates at Edinburgh respectively; which said Warehouse-Keeper,
is hereby required, within Ten Days after Demand by the Keepers
of the respective Libraries, or any Person or Persons by them or
any of them Authorised to Demand the said Copy, to Deli-
ver the same, for the Use of the aforesaid Libraries; and if any
Proprietor, Bookseller or Printer, or the said Warehouse-Keeper
of the said Company of Stationers, shall not observe the Directi-
on of this Act therein, That then he and they, so making De-
fault in not Delivering the said Printed Copies, as aforesaid,
shall Forfeit, besides the value of the said Printed Copies, the
sum of Five Pounds for every Copy not so Delivered, as also
the value of the said Printed Copy not so Delivered, the same to
be Recovered by the Queens [sic] Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors,
and by the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of any of the said
Universities, and by the President and Fellows of Sion College,
and the said Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, with their full
Costs respectively.

Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if any Per-
son or Persons incur the Penalties contained in this Act, in that
part of Great Britain called Scotland, they shall be recoverable by
any Action before the Court of Session there.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained do extend, or shall
be construed to extend, to Prohibit the Importation, Vending, or
Selling of any Books in Greek, Latin, or any other Foreign
Language Printed beyond the Seas; Any thing in this Act con-
tained to the contrary notwithstanding.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if
any Action or Suit shall be Commenced or Brought against any
Person or Persons whatsoever, for doing or causing to be done
any thing in pursuance of this Act, the Defendants in such Action
may Plead the General Issue, and give the Special Matter in
Evidence; and if upon such Action a Verdict be given for the
Defendant, or the Plaintiff become Nonsuited, or Discontinue
his Action, then the Defendant shall have and recover his full Costs,
for which he shall have the same Remedy as a Defendant in any
case by Law hath.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend,
or be construed to extend, either to Prejudice or Confirm any
Right that the said Universities, or any of them, or any Per-
son or Persons have, or claim to have, to the Printing or Re-
printing any Book or Copy already Printed, or hereafter to be
Printed.
Provided


Page 6

Provided nevertheless, That all Actions, Suits, Bills, In-
dictments, or Informations for any Offence that shall be Com-
mitted against this Act, shall be Brought, Sued, and Com-
menced within Three Months next after such Offence Committed,
or else the same shall be Void and of none Effect.

Provided always, That after the Expiration of the said
Term of Fourteen Years, the sole Right of Printing or Dis-
posing of Copies shall return to the Authors thereof, if they
are then Living, for another Term of Fourteen Years.

FINIS.



http://www.copyrighthistory.com/anne6.html

also has scans. . . .


The Statute of Anne


Page 1


Anno Octavo
AnnRegin

An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vest-
ing the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or
Purchasers of such Copies, during the Times therein
mentioned.

Whereas Printers, Booksellers, and other
Persons, have of late frequently taken
the Liberty of Printing, Reprinting,
and Publishing, or causing to be Print-
ed, Reprinted, and Published Books,
and other Writings, without the Con-
sent of the Authors or Proprietors of
such Books and Writings, to their
very great Detriment, and too often
to the Ruin of them and their Fami-
lies: For Preventing therefore such
Practices for the future, and for the
Encouragement of Learned Men to Compose and Write use-
ful Books; May it please Your Majesty, that it may be En-
acted, and be it Enacted by the Queens most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons in this present Parliament Assembled,
and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the
Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, the
Author of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath not
Transferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book or
Books, Share or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, or other Person or Persons, who
hath or have Purchased or Acquired the Copy or Copies of any
Book or Books, in order to Print or Reprint the same, shall
have the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such Book and
Books for the Term of One and twenty Years, to Commence
from the said Tenth Day of April, and no longer; and that
the Author of any Book or Books already Composed and not
Printed and Published, or that shall hereafter be Composed, and
his Assignee, or Assigns, shall have the sole Liberty of Printing
and Reprinting such Book and Books for the Term of four
-teen


page 2

teen Years, to Commence from the Day of the First Publish-
ing the same, and no longer; And that if any other Bookseller,
Printer, or other Person whatsoever, from and after the Tenth
Day of April, One thousand seven hundred and ten, within the
times Granted and Limited by this Act, as aforesaid, shall Print,
Reprint, or Import, or cause to be Printed, Reprinted, or Imported
any such Book or Books, without the Consent of the Proprietor or
Proprietors thereof first had and obtained in Writing, Signed
in the Presence of Two or more Credible Witnesses; or knowing
the same to be so Printed or Reprinted, without the Consent of
the Proprietors, shall Sell, Publish, or Expose to Sale, or cause
to be Sold, Published, or Exposed to Sale, any such Book or
Books, without such Consent first had and obtained, as afore-
said, Then such Offender or Offenders shall Forfeit such Book or
Books, and all and every Sheet or Sheets, being part of such
Book or Books, to the Proprietor or Proprietors of the Copy
thereof, who shall forthwith Damask and make Waste-Paper of
them: And further, That every such Offender or Offenders, shall
Forfeit One Peny [sic] for every sheet which shall be found in his,
her, or their Custody, either Printed or Printing, Published or
Exposed to Sale, contrary to the true intent and meaning of
this Act, the one Moiety thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent
Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors, and the other Moiety
thereof to any Person or Persons that shall Sue for the same,
to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at
Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information,
in which no Wager of Law, Essoign, Privilege, or Protection,
or more than one Imparlance, shall be allowed.

And whereas many Persons may through Ignorance Offend
against this Act, unless some Provision be made whereby the Pro-
perty in every such Book, as is intended by this Act to be Se-
cured to the proprietor or Proprietors thereof, may be ascertain-
ed, as likewise the Consent of such Proprietor or Proprietors for the
Printing or Reprinting of such Book or Books may from time
to time be known; Be it therefore further Enacted by the Au-
thority aforesaid, That nothing in this Act contained shall be
construed to extend to subject any Bookseller, Printer, or other
Person whatsoever, to the Forfeitures or Penalties therein men-
tioned, for or by reason of the Printing or Reprinting of any Book
or Books without such Consent, as aforesaid, unless the Title
to the Copy of such Book or Books hereafter Published shall,
before such Publication be Entred [sic], in the Register-Book of the
Company of Stationers, in such manner as hath been usual,
which Register-Book shall at all times be kept at the Hall of
the said Company, and unless such Consent of the Proprietor
or Proprietors be in like manner Entred [sic], as aforesaid, for every
of which several Entries, Six Pence shall be Paid, and no
more; which said Register-Book may, at all Seasonable [sic; should be:

Reasonable] and
Convenient times, be Resorted to, and Inspected by any Book-
seller, Printer, or other Person, for the Purposes before menti-
oned,

Page 3

oned, without any Fee or Reward; and the Clerk of the said
Company of Stationers, shall, when and as often as thereunto
required, give a Certificate under his Hand of such Entry or En-
tries, and for every such Certificate, may take a Fee not exceed-
ing Six Pence.

Provided nevertheless, That if the Clerk of the said Com-
pany of Stationers, for the time being shall Refuse or Neglect to
Register, or make such Entry or Entries, or to give such Cer-
tificate, being thereunto Required by the Author or Proprietor of
such Copy or Copies, in the Presence of Two or more Credible
Witnesses, That then such Person and Persons so refusing, No-
tice being first duly given of such Refusal, by an Advertisement
in the Gazette, shall have the like Benefit, as if such Entry or
Entries, Certificate or Certificates had been duly made and gi-
ven; and that the Clerks so refusing, shall, for any such Offence,
Forfeit to the Proprietor of such Copy or Copies the Sum of
Twenty Pounds, to be Recovered in any of Her Majesties [sic]
Courts of Record at Westminster, by Action of Debt, Bill,
Plaint, or Information, in which no Wager of Law, Essoign,
Privilege or Protection, or more than one Imparlance shall
be allowed.

Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby further Enacted by
the Authority aforesaid, That if any Bookseller or Booksellers,
Printer or Printers, shall, after the said Five and twentieth
Day of March, One thousand seven hundred and ten, set a
Price upon, or Sell or Expose to Sale, any Book or Books
at such a Price or Rate as shall be Conceived by any Person
or Persons to be High and Unreasonable; It shall and may be
Lawful for any Person or Persons to make Complaint thereof
to the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; the
Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Great
Britain for the time being; the Lord Bishop of London for the
time being; the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queens [sic]
Bench, the Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common
Pleas, the Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, for
the time being; the Vice-Chancellors of the Two Universities
for the time being, in that part of Great Britain called England;
the Lord President of the Sessions for the time being; the Lord
Justice General for the time being; the Lord Chief Baron of
the Exchequer for the time being; the Rector of the College
of Edinburgh for the time being, in that part of Great Britain
called Scotland; who, or any one of them, shall and have hereby full
Power and Authority from time to time, to Send for, Sum-
mon, or Call before him or them such Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, and to Examine and Enquire of
the reason of the Dearness and Inhauncement of the Price or Va-
lue of such Book or Books by him or them so Sold or Exposed to
Sale; and if upon such Enquiry and Examination it shall be
found, that the Price of such Book or Books is Inhaunced, or
any

Page 4

any wise too High or Unreasonable, Then and in such case, the
said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper,
Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief Baron, Vice-
Chancellors of the Universities, in that part of Great Britain called
England, and the said Lord President of the Sessions, Lord Justice
General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of the College of
Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or any one
or more of them, so Enquiring and Examining, have hereby full
Power and Authority to Reform and Redress the same, and to
Limit and Settle the Price of every such Printed Book
and Books, from time to time, according to the best of their
Judgements, and as to them shall seem Just and Reasonable;
and in case of Alteration of the Rate or Price from what
was Set or Demanded by such Bookseller or Booksellers,
Printer or Printers, to Award and Order such Bookseller and
Booksellers, Printer and Printers, to Pay all the Costs and
Charges that the Person or Persons so Complaining shall be
put unto, by reason of such Complaint, and of the causing such
Rate or Price to be so Limited and Settled; all which shall be
done by the said Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Chancellor, or
Lord Keeper, Bishop of London, two Chief Justices, Chief
Baron, Vice Chancellors of the Two Universities, in that part
of Great Britain called England, and the said Lord President of the
Sessions, Lord Justice General, Lord Chief Baron, and Rector of
the College of Edinburgh, in that part of Great Britain called
Scotland, or any one of them, by Writing under their Hands
and Seals, and thereof Publick Notice shall be forthwith given
by the said Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, by
an Advertisement in the Gazette; and if any Bookseller or Book-
sellers, Printer or Printers, shall, after such Settlement made
of the said Rate and Price, Sell, or expose to Sale any Book
or Books, at a higher or greater Price than what shall have been
so Limited and Settled, as aforesaid, then and in every such
case such Bookseller and Booksellers, Printer and Printers,
shall Forfeit the Sum of Five Pounds for every such Book so
by him, her, or them Sold or Exposed to Sale; One Moiety
thereof to the Queens [sic] most Excellent Majesty, Her Heirs and
Successors, and the other Moiety to any Person or Persons that
shall Sue for the same, to be Recovered, with Costs of Suit,
in any of Her Majesties [sic] Courts of Record at Westminster, by Acti-
on of Debt, Bill, Plaint or Information, in which no Wager
of Law, Essoign, Privilege or Protection, or more than one Im-
parlance, shall be allowed.

Provided always, and it is hereby Enacted, That Nine Copies
of each Book or Books, upon the best Paper, that from and af-
ter the said Tenth Day of April, One thousand seven hundred
and ten, shall be Printed and Published, as aforesaid, or Re-
printed and Published with Additions, shall, by the Printer and
Printers thereof, be Delivered to the Warehouse-Keeper of the
said

Page 5

said Company of Stationers for the time being, at the Hall of
the said Company, before such Publication made, for the Use of
the Royal Library, the Libraries of the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge, the Libraries of the Four Universities in Scot-
land, the Library of Sion College in London, and the Library
commonly called the Library belonging to the Faculty of Advo-
cates at Edinburgh respectively; which said Warehouse-Keeper,
is hereby required, within Ten Days after Demand by the Keepers
of the respective Libraries, or any Person or Persons by them or
any of them Authorised to Demand the said Copy, to Deli-
ver the same, for the Use of the aforesaid Libraries; and if any
Proprietor, Bookseller or Printer, or the said Warehouse-Keeper
of the said Company of Stationers, shall not observe the Directi-
on of this Act therein, That then he and they, so making De-
fault in not Delivering the said Printed Copies, as aforesaid,
shall Forfeit, besides the value of the said Printed Copies, the
sum of Five Pounds for every Copy not so Delivered, as also
the value of the said Printed Copy not so Delivered, the same to
be Recovered by the Queens [sic] Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors,
and by the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of any of the said
Universities, and by the President and Fellows of Sion College,
and the said Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, with their full
Costs respectively.

Provided always, and be it further Enacted, That if any Per-
son or Persons incur the Penalties contained in this Act, in that
part of Great Britain called Scotland, they shall be recoverable by
any Action before the Court of Session there.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained do extend, or shall
be construed to extend, to Prohibit the Importation, Vending, or
Selling of any Books in Greek, Latin, or any other Foreign
Language Printed beyond the Seas; Any thing in this Act con-
tained to the contrary notwithstanding.

And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if
any Action or Suit shall be Commenced or Brought against any
Person or Persons whatsoever, for doing or causing to be done
any thing in pursuance of this Act, the Defendants in such Action
may Plead the General Issue, and give the Special Matter in
Evidence; and if upon such Action a Verdict be given for the
Defendant, or the Plaintiff become Nonsuited, or Discontinue
his Action, then the Defendant shall have and recover his full Costs,
for which he shall have the same Remedy as a Defendant in any
case by Law hath.

Provided, That nothing in this Act contained shall extend,
or be construed to extend, either to Prejudice or Confirm any
Right that the said Universities, or any of them, or any Per-
son or Persons have, or claim to have, to the Printing or Re-
printing any Book or Copy already Printed, or hereafter to be
Printed.
Provided


Page 6

Provided nevertheless, That all Actions, Suits, Bills, In-
dictments, or Informations for any Offence that shall be Com-
mitted against this Act, shall be Brought, Sued, and Com-
menced within Three Months next after such Offence Committed,
or else the same shall be Void and of none Effect.

Provided always, That after the Expiration of the said
Term of Fourteen Years, the sole Right of Printing or Dis-
posing of Copies shall return to the Authors thereof, if they
are then Living, for another Term of Fourteen Years.

FINIS.



***