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What it is

Requiring copies of all publications in Spain for preservation

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 23 March 2011. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Government bill on legal deposit.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000118· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law regulates legal deposit: publishers must hand over copies of their publications to the Administration to preserve Spain's bibliographic, sound, visual, audiovisual and digital heritage and allow it to be consulted.
  2. Legal deposit covers nearly all kinds of publications made in Spain, on paper or digital media, including books, magazines, sheet music, maps, sound and audiovisual documents and some websites. Internal documents, social prints such as wedding invitations, commercial catalogs, calendars, instruction manuals and print-on-demand publications are excluded, among others.
  3. The main responsible party becomes the publisher, not the printer. If the publisher does not reside in Spain, the producer, printer, engraver or etcher must do it. For electronic documents and websites, conservation centers may capture them directly, and website publishers are exempt from the deposit duty.
  4. The deposit must be made at the legal deposit office of the publisher's Autonomous Community, always before distributing or selling the work; if not, the work cannot be distributed. Each publication carries a single legal deposit number, which must appear in a visible place, next to the ISBN International number that uniquely identifies each published book. in books.
  5. The National Library of Spain keeps at least two copies of books and continuing resources, and one copy of sheet music, maps, photographs, sound recordings, audiovisual documents and electronic publications, among other materials.
  6. Failing to deposit or distributing without a deposit number is a minor offense, with fines from €1,000 to €2,000. Manipulating the number, giving false data, obstructing inspection or repeat offenses are serious offenses, with fines from €2,001 to €30,000. The Autonomous Communities impose the sanctions, which do not exempt from depositing.

Who it affects

  • Publishers based in Spain: They must request the legal deposit number and hand over copies before distributing or selling their publications.
  • Producers, printers, engravers and etchers: They are responsible for the deposit when the publisher does not reside in Spain or fails to request it.
  • National Library of Spain and regional conservation centers: They keep the deposited copies and produce the Spanish national bibliography and statistics.
  • Film and documentary producers: They must deposit a new complete copy of their films and advertising material.
  • Autonomous Communities: They designate legal deposit offices, carry out inspections and sanction violations.

Words worth knowing

Depósito legal (legal deposit)
The duty to hand over copies of a publication to public libraries so they are preserved and can be consulted.
Editor (publisher)
A person or company that selects works and produces and distributes them, such as a book or magazine.
ISBN
International number that uniquely identifies each published book.
Mancheta (masthead)
The area of a magazine or newspaper showing the basic details identifying the publication.
Recurso continuado (continuing resource)
A publication issued over time with no set end date, such as a newspaper or magazine.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced23 March 2011Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted29 March 2011The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments1 April 2011Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee18 May 2011A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenaryno dateAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate26 May 2011The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE21 July 2011It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 9 official steps on a timeline
Mar 2011Apr 2011May 2011Jun 201111. 23 March 2011: Presentación22. 29 March 2011: Comisión de Cultura Publicación desde 29/03/2011 hasta 01/04/201133. 29 March 2011: Calificación44. 1 April 2011: Comisión de Cultura Enmiendas desde 01/04/2011 hasta 18/05/201155. 18 May 2011: Comisión de Cultura Informe desde 18/05/2011 hasta 24/05/201166. 24 May 2011: Comisión de Cultura Aprobación con competencia legislativa plena desde 24/05/2011 hasta 26/05/201177. 26 May 2011: Senado desde 26/05/2011 hasta 13/07/201188. 13 July 2011: Pleno Enmiendas o veto del Senado desde 13/07/2011 hasta 21/07/201199. 21 July 2011: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 21/07/2011 hasta 13/09/2011

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Law 23/2011, of 29 July, on legal deposit.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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