LITERARY PROPERTY. — The “most sacred and most precious of properties” was first legally recognized by a decree of the French National Assembly concerning theatrical performances, dated 13–19 January 1791, which prohibited the performance of works by living authors without their consent; two years later, by the law of 19–24 July 1793, the author’s exclusive right to all works of the intellect was recognized.
In Italy, the first law on l. p. was that of 19 Floréal, Year IX (9 May 1801) of the Cisalpine Republic. It was followed by the laws of the Italian Kingdom, the Edict of 23 September 1826 for the Papal States, the decree of 5 February 1828 for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Civil Code of 1836 for the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the decree of 22 December 1840 of Maria Luigia for the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla. After unification, this matter was regulated chiefly by the consolidated texts of 1865, 1882, and 1925 and is currently governed by Articles 2575–83 of the Civil Code, by Law no. 653 of 22 April 1941, and by Royal Decree no. 1369 of 18 May 1942 (in force from 18 December of the same year), as well as by certain provisions of lesser importance. On 9 September 1886 Italy joined the International Union of Berne, established among France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Switzerland, Haiti, and Tunisia (to which other nations were later added) for relations with foreigners, and subsequently adopted the modifications that the convention itself later underwent.
Under the laws in force, given that any exploitation of a literary or artistic work is reserved to the author, and that the right of publication includes the use of printing and any means of reproduction, as well as the transcription of readings by stenography and typewriting and the public recitation of passages from the work, the work may not be published, translated, reproduced, performed, or presented without the authorization of the author or his successors in title; and since it is not easy to establish the boundary between the public and private performance of a dramatic work, the Italian legislature has established that a performance is public when it does not take place within the family circle—that is, when the performance is given outside the ordinary circle of a family, boarding institution, or school.
The author’s exclusive right begins on the date of first publication and lasts throughout the author’s lifetime and for fifty years after his death. For works published at the expense and on behalf of the State and public administrations, the right has been limited to twenty years from publication; for collaborative works, its duration is determined by the life of the collaborator who dies last (v. PROPRIETÀ IMMATERIALE).
Although legislative documents are as a rule not included among the works protected by copyright laws, the Holy See has nevertheless reserved the right of literary property in the CIC.