Law on price fixing for books (Book Price Binding Act)

Unofficial table of contents

BuchPrG

Date of completion: 02.09.2002

Full quote:

" Book price binding law of 2 September 2002 (BGBl. 3448), as last amended by Article 1 of the Law of 14 July 2006 (BGBl I). I p. 1530).

Status:

Last amended by Art. 1 G v. 14.7.2006 I 1530

For more details, please refer to the menu under Notes

Footnote

(+ + + Text evidence from: 1.10.2002 + + +) 

  

The G was referred to as Article 1 (d). G v. 2.9.2002 I 3448 of the Bundestag. It's gem. Article 3 of this G mWv 1.10.2002 entered into force. Unofficial table of contents

§ 1 Purpose of the Law

The law serves to protect the cultural good book. The fixing of binding prices for sale to the latter ensures the maintenance of a wide range of books. The law also ensures that this offer is accessible to a broad public by promoting the existence of a large number of sales outlets. Unofficial table of contents

§ 2 Scope

(1) Books within the meaning of this Act are also

1.

Music node,

2.

cartographic products,

3.

Products that reproduce or substitute books, sheet music or cartographic products, and which are to be regarded as predominantly lax-or book-tradable in the event of an appraisal of the overall circumstances; and

4.

Combined objects in which one of the products mentioned is the main object.

(2) Foreign language books are subject to this law only if they are primarily intended for sales in Germany. (3) The latter is, in the sense of this law, who acquires books for purposes other than resale. Unofficial table of contents

§ 3 Price binding

Those who sell books on a commercial or business basis to the last buyer must comply with the price fixed in accordance with § 5. This does not apply to the sale of used books. Unofficial table of contents

§ 4 Cross-border sales

(1) The fixing of prices shall not apply to cross-border sales within the European Economic Area. (2) The final price fixed in accordance with § 5 shall be based on cross-border sales of books within the European Economic Area. where it appears from objective circumstances that the books in question have been carried out solely for the purpose of their re-entry in order to circumvent that law. Unofficial table of contents

§ 5 Price fixing

(1) Anyone who publishes or imports books shall be obliged to fix a price including VAT (final price) for the issueof a book for sale to the latter and to publish it in an appropriate manner. The same applies to changes in the final price. (2) Those who import books may, in order to fix the final price, be entitled to the last customer price recommended by the publisher of the publishing state for Germany, including the one applicable in Germany. Do not fall below the VAT rate. If the publisher has not recommended a price for Germany, the importer may, in order to fix the final price, be entitled to the net price of the publisher fixed or recommended for the State in which the publisher is entitled, plus the applicable price in Germany. (3) Anyone who purchases books in a State Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area at a lower purchase price deviating from the usual purchase prices in the purchasing State may take the in proportion to the final price to be fixed in accordance with paragraph 2, such as corresponds to the ratio of the trade advantage achieved to the usual purchase prices in the purchasing state; in this case, typical volume discounts and corresponding sales conditions are considered to be part of the usual purchase prices. (4) Publisher or Importers may set the following final prices:

1.

Series prices,

2.

Quantity prices,

3.

subscription prices,

4.

Special prices for institutions which have been contractually involved in the publication of certain particular publishing works in a manner which is decisive for the work of the work,

5.

Special prices for subscribers to a journal in relation to a book written or published by the editorial office of this journal, and

6.

Partial payment surcharges.

(5) The fixing of different final prices for a given title by a publisher or importer or their licensees is permissible if this is objectively justified. Unofficial table of contents

§ 6 Distribution

(1) In determining their selling prices and other conditions of sale to dealers, publishers must make the contribution of smaller bookshops to the comprehensive supply of books and their booksellers ' service be properly considered. You are not allowed to align their discounts solely on the sales achieved with a trader. (2) Publishers may not supply non-industry traders at lower prices or more favourable conditions than the bookstore. (3) Publishers may apply for Intermediate booksellers do not set higher prices or lower conditions than those for the last seller, which they supply directly. Unofficial table of contents

§ 7 Exceptions

(1) § 3 does not apply to the sale of books

1.

to publishers or importers of books, booksellers or their employees and permanent staff for their own needs,

2.

Authors of independent publications of a publishing house for their own needs,

3.

to teachers for the purpose of testing use in teaching,

4.

which are marked as defects in defects or other defects,

5.

as part of an eviction sale limited to a period of 30 days, on the occasion of the definitive closure of a bookstore, provided that the books come from the ordinary holdings of the closing undertaking and have previously been received by the supplier, an appropriate time limit for withdrawal has been offered.

(2) In the case of the sale of books, scientific libraries accessible to any scientific worker in their field may be up to 5%, municipal libraries accessible to all, public libraries and student libraries, as well as sectarian bookshops and troop libraries of the Bundeswehr and the Federal Police are granted up to 10 per cent discount. (3) In the case of collection orders of books for school education, which are to be owned by the public authorities, a beliehenen, or general education private schools, which are the status of state-owned replacement schools to be purchased, the Sellers shall grant the following discounts:

1.	on a contract with a total value of up to € 25,000 for title with
	more than 10 pieces	8 percent discount,
	more than 25 pieces	10 percent discount,
	more than 100 pieces	12 Percent Discount,
	more than 500 pieces	13 Percent Discount,
2.	in the case of an order in the total value of more than
	EUR 25,000	13 Percent Discount,
	EUR 38.000	14 Percent Discount,
	€ 50,000	15 percent discount.

To the extent that school textbooks are purchased by the schools under its own budgets, a general discount of 12 per cent is to be granted for all collection orders. (4) The last seller does not violate his obligation under § 3 if he/she is on the sale of a book

1.

Goods of low value or goods which do not weigh economically in relation to the value of the book purchased,

2.

low-value costs incurred by the latter for the visit of the point of sale,

3.

Shipment or special procurement costs shall be taken over or

4.

other commercially available secondary services.

Unofficial table of contents

§ 8 Duration of the fixing of prices

(1) Publishers and importers shall be entitled to waive the fixing of prices for book expenditure by publication in an appropriate manner, the first appearance of which shall be longer than 18 months. (2) For books at a distance of less than 18 months, In the event of a recurrent publication or a significant loss of its content with the attainment of a specific date or event, the publisher or importer shall terminate the fixing of the price without regard to the period referred to in paragraph 1. Expiry of a reasonable period of time since it appears. Unofficial table of contents

§ 9 Claims for damages and injunctive claims

(1) If you are contrary to the provisions of this law, you may be subject to omission. Those who are acting intentionally or negligently are obliged to compensate for the damage caused by the infringement. (2) The right to omission can only be claimed

1.

of tradesmen who sell books,

2.

of legally competent associations for the promotion of industrial interests, insofar as they belong to a significant number of traders who sell goods or industrial services of the same or related type on the same market, insofar as they are , according to their human, factual and financial resources, are capable of effectively carrying out their statutory tasks of pursuit of industrial interests and the act is likely to have a significant effect on competition on the relevant market ,

3.

by a lawyer who has been charged by publishers, importers or companies who make sales to the latter, together as trustees, to supervise their price fixing (price-bound trustees),

4.

by qualified entities which demonstrate that they are included in the list of qualified entities referred to in Article 4 of the Law on the Law of Injunctions or in the list of the Commission of the European Communities referred to in Article 4 of Directive 98 /27/EC of the European Communities European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers ' interests (OJ L 136, 31.5.1998, p. EC No 51) are entered in the version in force.

The bodies referred to in the first sentence of paragraph 4 may claim the right to omission only in so far as the claim relates to an act by which the essential interests of the latter are affected. (3) The procedure shall apply to the proceedings in respect of the Persons entitled under paragraph 2 (1) to (3) shall comply with the provisions of the law against unfair competition and, in the case of bodies referred to in paragraph 2 (4), the provisions of the law on injunctions. Unofficial table of contents

§ 10 Book inspection

(1) If there is a reasonable suspicion that a company has infringed § 3, a trader who also distributes books may require that the company to commit to secrecy on the grounds of secrecy Members of the economic or tax advisory professions provide an insight into his books and business records. The report of the auditor may refer exclusively to the infringements of the provisions of this Act which have become known to him. (2) If an infringement is present, the trader may be entitled to the infringement of the law. To request reimbursement of the necessary costs of the audit. Unofficial table of contents

§ 11 Transitional provision

Final prices for books awarded by publishers or importers for books, which are the first to be awarded to the 1. The prices referred to in Article 5 (1) shall be deemed to be prices for the period from October 2002 to October 2002.