greatgildersleeve t1_izffz30 wrote
How rigidly is this enforced?
boots_n_cats t1_izfh1no wrote
The title is highly misleading. There are absolutely new copies printed in the UK, a couple of publishers have the authorization to do so. It’s a bit of an odd anachronistic thing but that’s true of tons of stuff in the UK, given it’s 800 years of legal continuity.
bigbadfox t1_izi43rs wrote
Oh i love this kind of thing. Are there any other fun old British laws, off the top of your head?
I'll trade you an American one. In Kentucky, it is illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket. Not like, an ice cream bar in a wrapper, like an actual waffle cone with scoops of frozen diary.
Bonus fact? It's for an actual logical reason. Whether it's a good reason or a stupid one is up to you.
Back in the day, people would tuck an ice cream cone into their back pocket, and walk past a horse they wanted to steal. The horse, wishing to enjoy the frozen treat, would follow the nefarious thief home. Naturally, if this vagabond just jumped on and rode off, someone might see and they' get in serious trouble. But if that horse FOLLOWED them home and someone saw, well what could he wrong with that? The idea was to garner some amount of plausible deniabity.
So, eventually they just said no ice cream cones in back pockets.
GhettoChemist t1_izfivit wrote
Yeah how is it in UK public domaim, but it's "illegal" to make new copies? Those are mutually exclusive notions.
al666in OP t1_izfjqlt wrote
I know, that's what makes it so crazy. As indicated in the title, the concept is called "Royal perogative," and it supersedes the public domain. Only Printers with the letters patent can print new copies.
Dry_Needleworker7504 t1_izg6nj1 wrote
Your own link says it isn't codified so that basically means it's nothing.
teh_maxh t1_izhp6vv wrote
Codification is not an essential step of lawmaking in common law; it is merely a convenience. The British constitution isn't even codified.
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