Printers and Publishers (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 27/1967

Read the first time on 31st October 1967.
An Act to amend the Printers and Publishers Ordinance (Chapter 196 of the Revised Edition).
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Printers and Publishers (Amendment) Act, 1967, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 2
2.  Section 2 of the Printers and Publishers Ordinance (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the Ordinance”) is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Interpretation
2.  In this Ordinance, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —
“book” includes every volume, part or division of a volume, report, pamphlet, periodical, newspaper, Government publication, sheet of letterpress, sheet of music, map, chart, plan or table, print, drawing and other graphic art forms, which are made available for sale or by unrestricted distribution free of charge; but does not include legal documents, printed forms, trade circulars, time tables or other business documents;
“printed”, as applied to books, means produced by printing, lithography, photography, duplication or any other like process, and “printer” has a corresponding meaning;
“publisher”, means any person, group of persons whether in partnership or otherwise, company or society who or which arranges the offer of a book for sale or distribution free of charge.”.
Amendment of section 4
3.  Subsection (1) of section 4 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the word “Six” appearing in the first line thereof and substituting therefor the word “Five”; and
(b)by deleting the words “the Colony” appearing in the second line thereof and substituting therefor the word “Singapore”.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 5
4.  Section 5 of the Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Disposal of five copies
5.  Of the five copies of every book deposited under this Ordinance, two copies shall be preserved in the National Library and the remaining copies shall be disposed of as the Director of the National Library thinks fit.”.
Amendment of section 6
5.  Section 6 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —
(a)by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1) and by deleting the words “the Colony of” appearing in the third line thereof; and
(b)by inserting immediately after subsection (1) thereof the following new subsection: —
(2)  The particulars referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be provided by the publisher within two weeks after the day in which such book is delivered to the Director of the National Library.”.
Amendment of section 7
6.  Section 7 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the expression “—(1)” appearing in the first line of subsection (1) thereof; and
(b)by deleting subsection (2) thereof.
Repeal and re-enactment of section 8
7.  Section 8 of the Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Penalty for non-delivery of books by publisher
8.  Any publisher who neglects to deliver five copies of any such book or of any second or subsequent edition of any such book to the Director of the National Library and in the manner hereinbefore prescribed shall be guilty of an offence under this Ordinance and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars.”.