WHEREAS,
the acquisition, organization and preservation of a
nation's intellectual and cultural heritage is a prime duty
of the State;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, the cultural heritage of the Filipino nation is
manifested in, among others, a comprehensive national
bibliography, the principal basis of which are the published and
printed materials on legal deposit; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, these legal deposit materials are of great value to
readers, researchers, and scholars;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
WHEREAS, there also exists an imperative need to preserve
published and printed materials for posterity, and against
unforeseen events and calamities such as fires,
earthquakes, floods, or wars that may cause untold destruction to
our national culture; and
WHEREAS, it is believed that the best way of accomplishing these
purposes is to provide that certain government libraries be
made recipients and depositories of copies of such published and
printed materials; chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the
Constitution, do hereby decree, order and make as part of
the law of the land the following measures:cralaw:red
Section 1. This Decree shall be known as the
"Decree on Legal and Cultural Deposit".
Section 2. (A) Within one month from the date
any printed book, as this term is defined herein, is
first delivered out of the press, the publisher of such
book shall furnish, free of charge and in the same finish as the
best copies of the same are produced, two copies thereof to
the National Library, and a copy each to the University of
the Philippines Main Library, the University of the
Philippines Library at Cebu City, the Mindanao State University
Library, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines Library. Upon
receipt of the respective copies, the Chief Librarian concerned
shall issue an acknowledgment receipt therefor to the proper
person and shall keep a copy of such receipt for record purposes.
(B) The heads of the various departments,
bureaus, offices, and branches of the government, including
the provinces and municipalities, and government-owned and
government-controlled corporations are likewise required to
furnish the National Library two free copies of any printed book
published by them, and a copy each to the aforementioned
libraries, within the period specified in paragraph (A) of this Section.
Section 3. For purposes of this Decree, the
following shall be taken in the sense herein below
indicated: chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
a) "Book" includes all printed literary works,
musical arrangements, catalogues, periodicals, government
publications, prints, photographs, drawings and other graphic
arts, maps, plans, charts, and tables, and all supplements
thereto, whether in their original form or adaptations or
reproductions of the same, which are made available for sale or
free distribution to the general public, but shall not include
legal documents, printed forms, trade circulars, timetables, and
other commercial documents.
b) "Printed", as applied to books, means that which
is produced by printing, lithography, photography,
duplication, or any like process.
c) "Printer" refers to the proprietor of the
printing establishment.
d) "Publisher" refers to the person, natural or
juridical, which undertakes the production of a book and its
offer for sale or free distribution. The publisher of a book may
also be its printer.
Section 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of
existing laws to the contrary, departments, bureaus, offices,
and branches of the government including the provinces and
municipalities, and government-owned or government-controlled
corporations ordering the printing of any publication are
directed to furnish, without charge to the National Library, at
least fifty (50) copies of all printed reports or documents of
any kind to serve as the mainstay of the exchange commitments of
the National Library, both national and international.
Section 5. The Director of the National Library
is hereby empowered to make use of, allocate or distribute
in the manner he deems fit, and in the interest of
educational or cultural advancement, scholarship, or research,
the materials on legal deposit in the National Library.
Section 6. The Director of the National Library
shall keep a record of all materials received under Section 3
of this Decree, which record shall contain, as far as
practicable, the following particulars as supplied by the
publisher:cralaw:red
a) The title of the book and the contents of the
title page with a translation into English language;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
b) The language in which the book is written;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
c) The name of the author, translator, or editor of
the book;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
d) The subject matter;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
e) The place of printing and the place of
publication;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
f) The name or firm of the printer and/or the name
or firm of the publisher;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
g) The date of issue from the press and/or the date
of publication;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
h) The number of sheets, leaves or pages;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
i) The size;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
j) The number of the edition;chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
k) The number of copies which the edition consists:cralaw:red
l) The price at which the book is sold to the
public; and
m) The name and residence of the proprietor of
the copyright or any portion of the copyright. chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
Section 7. The records to be kept by the Director of
the National Library, pursuant to the immediately preceding
section, shall be published in the Official Gazette at the end of
each quarter, counted from the beginning of each calendar year,
or not less than one month after the end of such quarter.
Section 8. In case of a copyrighted work, the
provisions of Section 2 of this Decree shall not apply.
Section 9. In case of total or partial nonfulfillment
of the deposit required under Section 2 (A) of this Decree,
the publisher shall upon conviction be liable to a fine of
not less than fifty (P50.00) Pesos nor more than five
hundred (P500.00) Pesos and shall, likewise, be obliged to
deliver the materials published or printed. If the copy of
the material is no longer available, a reproduction thereof,
or the value of the work, shall be added to the fine.
Section 10. All laws, executive orders and/or
administrative regulations which are inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 11. This Decree shall take effect three
(3) months after its approval.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 18th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen
hundred and seventy-five.
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