Section VI Delivery of Copies to Libraries
Copies of all books first published in the United Kingdom after 1842 must be delivered to the undermentioned libraries by the publisher. In default the respective librarians may recover from the publisher:293
i. The value of the copy which ought to have been delivered.
ii. A sum not exceeding £5.
iii. Solicitor and client costs.
The proceedings may either be summary by way of conviction before two Justices of the Peace in the county or place where the publisher making default resides, or by action in any Court of Record in the United Kingdom.294
The following copies are to be delivered:
I. To the British Museum:295
One of the best copies published (complete with maps and prints) of
i. Every book first published.
ii. Every subsequent edition of a book, unless
(a) it contains no additions or alterations, and
(b) some preceding edition has been delivered:
Within one calendar month after publication or offering for sale in London.
Within three calendar months after publication or offering for sale elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
The copy must be delivered between 10 A. M. and 4 P. M. on any day except Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and Christmas Day.296
The officer of the Museum appointed to receive these copies is required to give a receipt in writing.297
II. To each of the following Libraries,298 or to Stationers’ Hall for their use:
The Bodleian Library at Oxford.
The Public Library at Cambridge.
The Library of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh.
The Library of Trinity College at Dublin.
One copy of those copies of which the largest number is printed for sale, and in the like condition of
i. Every book first published.
ii. Every subsequent edition of a book, unless
(a) it contains no alterations or additions.
Within one month after demand.
Provided that within twelve months after publication demand has been made to the publishers under the hand of the officer of the Company of Stationers or other person authorised thereto by the respective libraries.
The officer at Stationers’ Hall and librarians of the several libraries are required to give a receipt in writing when a copy of a book is delivered to them.
The clauses as to delivery of copies are to be considered as being strictly penal. In The British Museum v. Payne,299 under the similar provisions in 54 Geo. III. c. 156, it was held that when a book was published in parts, a single part was not demandable. The Court refused to consider the question when, if ever, the complete book would be demandable.
It will be noticed that neither the copyright nor the right to sue is affected by non-delivery of these copies. The only consequence of omission to do so is a penalty on the publisher.
The right of the various bodies to delivery of a copy applies to all books published within the United Kingdom and not only to those entered at Stationers’ Hall.300