World Book and Copyright Day is designated by UNESCO. By celebrating this day worldwide, the world organization seeks to promote reading, publishing, and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.
The holiday, if we can call it that, was first celebrated on April 23, 1995. The date was proposed by the Spanish writer Vicente Clavel Andrés, who wanted to commemorate the 380th anniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. Coincidentally, Shakespeare, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Maurice Druon, Halldor Laxnes, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, and Manuel Vallejo were also born or died on this date.
The development of copyright dates back to the 15th-16th centuries, with England believed to be the first country to adopt a law, or rather a law, regarding copyright. This act of protection became necessary for authors with the advent of the printing press and the reproduction of printed books for the general public.
The first official such document was the so-called License of the Printing Act of 1662, which regulated the private permission to print, and was followed by the "Statute of Anne" of 1710, which already adopted at the state level the rights, laws and term of copyright.
In Bulgaria, the first norm relating to the protection of copyright is Art. 373 of the Criminal Code of 1896, which establishes criminal liability for counterfeiting and plagiarism. These two crimes are, according to the law, crimes of a general nature. The penalties provided are: 3 years in prison for plagiarism and "detention from one day to three months or a fine - for counterfeiting". The first Bulgarian Copyright Act was adopted in 1921. Today, the Copyright Act, adopted on August 1, 1993, is in force. Until its promulgation in the State Gazette, a dualistic principle was imposed: separate acts regulated the rights of authors over the works they created and the ways in which they assigned their rights. The Commercial Act, adopted in 1897, included the regulation of the publishing contract (Art. 432 – 450). These norms are entirely borrowed from the Austro-Hungarian Commercial Act of 1895. The general rules for commercial transactions also apply to publishing relationships. In addition, the law presumes the gratuitousness of the publishing contract. Author's remuneration is due only if agreed.
Happy holiday and may every one of our books, text and illustrations be created according to the Copyright Act!
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