FREEDOM TO PUBLISH

Freedom to publish is closely connected with freedom of expression. Although legal acts do not directly provide the freedom to publish (i.e. do not include the word “publish” or “publishing”), this right is granted by assuring the right to information and freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is regarded as a principle freedom in the Republic of Lithuania and is included in its constitution. Article 25 of the Constitution provides:

“Individuals shall have the right to have their own convictions and to freely express them.

Individuals must not be hindered from seeking, obtaining or disseminating information or ideas.” The same article provides the grounds for limitation of the freedom of expression (described below). The provisions of this article are applied both for mass media and all other means of expression, including freedom to publish. This right is also ensured by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Provision of Information to the Public No. I - 1418 of 2 July 1996, which includes books into the list of mass media. Paragraph 2 of article 2 provides a definition of mass media, which “means a book, newspaper, journal, bulletin or any other publication, television and radio programme, film or other audio or video studio production, information agency report, or electronically disseminated report.” Otherwise, requirements applied with respect to publications the circulation of which is less than 100 copies, technical and official documents, non-periodical advertisement publications that do not exceed one half of a printer’s sheet shall not apply to mass media.

Freedom to publish is also guaranteed by other provisions of the Constitution and/or other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania. Part 2 of Article 44 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania provides that “the State, political and public organisations, other institutions or persons shall not monopolise mass media” The law on Provision of Information to the Public directly provides for prohibition of both the censure and the monopoly of public information.

The importance of the right to freedom of expression (and implied freedom to publish) was also supported by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania. In the Decision on the Consistency of Articles 7 and 9.3 of the Statute of Lithuanian Radio and Television, as well as items 3 and 12 of the Resolution on Organisational Technical Commission of Competitions for Rent of State Devices of Broadcast of Radio and Television Programmes with the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania No. 41 of 20 April 1995. The Court supported the opinion that this right is an obligatory condition for the creation of democracy, thus must necessarily be observed. Lithuania is also a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for similar rights.

Article 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania provides the following:

“Freedom to express convictions, as well as to obtain and disseminate information, may not be restricted in any way other than as established by law, when it is necessary for the safeguard of the health, honour and dignity, or morals of a person, or for the protection of constitutional order. Freedom to express convictions or to impart information shall be incompatible with criminal actions - the instigation of national, racial, religious, or social hatred, violence, or discrimination, the dissemination of slander, or misinformation.” Article 28 of the Constitution provides that “while exercising their rights and freedoms, persons must observe the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, and must not impair the rights and interests of other people”.

The possibility of limiting freedom expression was also confirmed in the said decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania. Otherwise, the Court established that the grounds for limitations are only those necessary in a democratic society for the protection of constitutional order, human rights and freedoms. Moreover, the Court established that such limitations shall not, in any case, violate pluralism as the main principle of the democratic state.

The main limitation of freedom to publish regards publications of an erotic or violent character, as well as pornographic publications. With regard to paragraph 4 of Article 25 of the Constitution, which establishes the incompatibility of this freedom with criminal acts, the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania provides for two criminal actions related to the issue discussed. Article 242 provides for criminal responsibility for the manufacture and distribution of pornographic objects, while Article 242¹ deals with the manufacture and distribution of works propagating cults of violence and cruelty. Otherwise, these articles of the Criminal Code are rarely applied.

The law on the Provision of Information to the Public provides the bases for the restriction of publications of erotic or violent character. Following Paragraph 5 of Article 32 of the said law, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania adopted a resolution on “the Order of Dissemination of Periodicals, Films and Video-films, Radio and Television Programmes of an Erotic or Violent Character” No. 1111 of 25 September 1996. This resolution is applied to books as well. The Erotic or violent character of these publications is established by the Ethics Commission of Journalists and Publishers together with experts from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. These objects may be disseminated in established places only, under supervision of police officers. One of the main provisions of this resolution is the prohibition of hiring children for the dissemination of such objects. Use of children for the creation of pornographic objects constitutes a criminal act. Under Lithuanian law, children are regarded as people below eighteen years of age.

No other restrictions of the freedom of publishing are provided for by law.

The 8 May 1990 Law No. I-196 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Enterprises" (hereinafter referred to as "the Law on Enterprises") provides that only legal entities registering themselves as enterprises in accordance with the Law on Enterprises are entitled to transact business in Lithuania (with the exceptions of private individuals working in certain professions or occupations). Engagement in commercial activities without registering an enterprise or receiving a special patent shall result in monetary fines imposed by various authorities.

The Law on Enterprises enables the following types of business organisations to be established and operate in Lithuania:

(a) Personal enterprises
(b) General partnerships
(c) Limited partnerships
(d) Closed, public and investment companies
(e) State (municipal) enterprises
(f) Agricultural companies
(g) Co-operative societies (co-operatives)

There is no specific requirement for the form of business organisation engaged in book-sector activities. Personal enterprises and partnerships are entities with unlimited liability of their owners/members (except for limited partners in limited partnership).

A personal enterprise may be owned by a single individual or jointly and equally by spouses. Not-for-profit organisations having the rights of a legal person which do not engage in production may also own a personal enterprise. A personal enterprise does not have the capacity of a legal person, and its assets are not held separate from the personal assets of its owner(s). Owner liability for the obligations of a personal enterprise, therefore, is unlimited, and includes all "personal property" as well (e.g., a personal house or other property not utilised by the personal enterprise).

General partnerships are enterprises with unlimited liability established on the basis of a partnership or joint venture agreement by several individuals or legal persons. The general partnership is created through the transfer of property from individual ownership to co-ownership within the partnership with the purpose of conducting business activities under a common name of the firm. A general partnership does not have the capacity of a legal person, and its joint property cannot be separated from the personal property of the individual partners. Therefore, all partners of a general partnership are jointly liable for the obligations of the general partnership, including their personal property. A general partnership, however, is not liable for the obligations of its partners if such obligations are incurred through activity unrelated to the activities of the general partnership.

Limited partnership (hereinafter referred to as LP) is one of the possible forms of business organisation in Lithuania. It comprises general members, acting in the name of the partnership, and limited members with partial ownership rights. LP is not a legal person - its property is not separated from the property of its general members. General members are jointly and severally liable for the LP's obligations by their entire property, while limited members are liable for the LP's obligations only to the extent of that part of their property, which has been contributed, to the partnership. LP is not liable for those obligations of its members that are not linked with the partnership's activity. LP's members can be natural and legal persons. It must have at least one general member and at least one limited member.

The most widespread types of corporate entities are closed and public companies.

A public company (hereinafter referred to as a PC) and a closed company (hereinafter referred to as a CC) are enterprises with limited liability, whose capital is divided into shares. Both a PC and a CC have the rights of a legal person. PCs and CCs are liable for their obligations only to the extent of their assets. The liability of shareholders for the obligations of PCs and CCs is limited to the amount payable for the shares in accordance with the share subscription agreement. The minimum number of shareholders of a PC or a CC is not established (it can be one) and the maximum number of shareholders is established only for a CC (fifty shareholders). The authorised capital of a PC cannot be less than 100.000 litas, (equivalent to US $25,000). Its shares may be traded publicly. The authorised capital of a CC cannot be less than 10.000 litas, (equivalent to US $2,500). The shares have a limited sphere of circulation: they cannot be publicly traded in.

A co-operative company is an economic entity with changeable composition and capital. It is established on a voluntary basis by a group of individuals, or individuals and legal persons, for the purpose of satisfying their collective business, economic or social needs. The co-operative company functions consistent with the wishes of its member owners. A co-operative company is a legal person and may engage in any activities that are not prohibited by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. A co-operative company may be an economic entity of limited liability liable for its obligations to the extent of the value of its property. The co-operative company is not liable for the obligations of its member owners when these obligations are not related to the activities of the co-operative company.

All enterprises must record their firm's name with the State Patent Bureau prior to their company registration (with certain exceptions). Commercial enterprises are registered with the Enterprise Registry, managed by local municipality or the Ministry of Economy. All enterprises with foreign capital are registered with the Ministry of Economy. Prior to registration with the Ministry, the incorporators must obtain consent from the local municipal authorities for the stated activity of the enterprise. Depending on the type of enterprise, other actions must also be taken prior to registration: a public offering of shares should be registered with the Securities Commission; the initial contributions to authorised capital should be paid to the company's accumulation account; in public companies, the incorporation account should be prepared and audited; the statutory general meeting of shareholders of a founded company should be convened, Articles of Association should be adopted and managing bodies elected. A decision on registration will be provided within 15 days from the date the documents were submitted. No separate registry is established for publishers or booksellers. After the company is registered, it may not start its activity until it performs all the following steps:

If the activities are performed in premises of inhabited houses with numerous apartments, permission - a hygiene certificate is required for all activities except editing.

No specific licence is required for trade in or the publishing of books.

According to Article 30 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Provision of Public Information, only a citizen of the Republic of Lithuania or a legal person registered in the Republic of Lithuania may be the owner of a public information producer or disseminator (i.e. a publisher or bookseller). In general, censorship is prohibited in the Republic of Lithuania. However, certain restrictions are applicable due to the rules on common morality.

The Article 8 of the Law prohibits the dissemination of pornography in the Republic of Lithuania.

According to the Procedure for Dissemination and Broadening of Publications and Press, films and video, radio and TV programs of an erotic and violent character approved by the Resolution of the Government, publications and press products of erotic and violent character may be disseminated only upon receipt of a permit from the Journalists and Publishers Ethics Commission and only in the places established by the executive authorities of local municipalities. The hiring of children for the dissemination of publications and press products of an erotic and violent character is prohibited.

According to Article 7 of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania On Trade of 12 January 1995, It is prohibited for the following to engage in trade:

1. Natural and legal persons whom the court declares insolvent
2. Persons whose legal capacity is restricted by the laws of the Republic of Lithuania
3. Political parties and political organisations (excluding those engaged in the publishing trade).

An entity or person engaged in retail or wholesale trade of books must have the respective patent or be registered as an enterprise in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Lithuania as described above, no specific requirements are set.

In order to engage in retail trade, it is necessary to deliver a certificate to the local municipality stating the design capacity of each retail (public catering) unit, the range of goods offered for sale and the permit issued by the hygiene centre. Companies that are in operation must file these documents to municipalities annually, by 1 March.

The 28 June 1995 Law No I-974 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Tax Administration" (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Tax Administration), and a number of specific laws on particular kinds of taxes, govern the tax system of the Republic of Lithuania. At present, the following taxes are administered in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration:

During the last several years the tax system in Lithuania has been relatively stable. Reform of the tax laws, however, is currently being discussed.

According to article 7 of the 31 July 1990 Law No I-642 of the Republic of Lithuania on Taxes on Profits of Legal Persons the normal profit tax rate is 29%. The 15% profit tax rate is applied to small enterprises - all legal persons whose gross income during the taxable period is less than 1,000,000 Litas ($250,000) and whose number of employees does not exceed 50. Taxable earnings retained and invested in long term material assets are not taxed. Tax incentives for foreign investors that were eliminated as of 1 April 1997, continue to apply to foreign investments made prior to that date. Companies registered and operating in a free economic zone benefit from additional incentives, which are reviewed in the section of this publication on Foreign Investments. Profit from investment funds received from investment or reinvestment into securities and/or trade in securities is exempt from taxation. If several tax incentives are applicable at the same time, the company may only utilise the single incentive that results in the greatest tax saving. Enterprises engaged in book-sector are not distinguished from other national subjects in respect of corporate income tax, however, many booksellers enjoy the "small enterprises" tax incentive. Capital gains are included in taxable profit and are subject to tax at the regular profit tax rate.

A 10% withholding tax is imposed on royalties paid to non-resident companies for trademarks, licenses and business names. A 15% withholding tax is imposed on payments to non-resident companies for consultancy, marketing, and mediation services, and on interest for loans (except interest for loans granted by foreign banks and international financial institutions on the list approved by the Lithuanian Government or its authorised institution). A 29% withholding tax is imposed on income derived by offshore companies registered in tax-haven zones or countries. The Government provides a list of such zones and companies.

The income earned by self-employed individuals is subject to income tax. This includes partnerships or private (personal) enterprises without the rights of a legal person that are engaged in commercial activities (e.g. booksellers).

Self-employed business income is taxed at the rate of 24%. Income subject to taxation received by partnerships or private (personal) enterprises without the rights of legal persons whose total revenue during the tax period does not exceed 1 million Litas ($250,000) and whose average number of employees does not exceed 50 persons, is subject to income tax of 15%. Income of partnerships and private (personal) enterprises derived from investment activities is subject to the 0% rate of income tax.

The cost of materials, goods, fuel and energy, salaries, rent and lease payments, and repair or depreciation on fixed assets owned by partnerships and private (personal) enterprises, as well as expenditures for exploitation, depreciation and repair of property owned by the owners of enterprises without the right of legal persons and members of their families, if such property is used to generate revenue, may be deducted from gross income. Partnerships and private (personal) enterprises may also choose the way of recognising total revenues: the moment of earning income or moment of actual receipt of revenues.

Paid by Employer 27%
Employee 1%
Health insurance tax paid by employer 3%

Employers must pay 30% from general salaries as a monthly social security payment. 27% is a social security payment and the remaining 3% is a health insurance payment. Employees are obligated to make a social insurance payment equal to 1% of the gross salary. Social security taxes are paid from the sum of wages that must not be (from January 1, 2000 – 3) in excess of 3.5 average monthly Lithuanian salaries (as announced by the Statistics Department) of the month before the previous month. The payment of this social security tax entitles the individual payee to social insurance benefits.

Standard rate 18%
Rate on exports 0%

Under the 22 December 1993 Law No I-345 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Value Added Tax" (hereinafter referred to as "the Law on Value Added Tax") the taxable object of VAT is the added value created and sold within the course of the manufacture of goods, or the performance of works, or the provision of services as well as the import of goods.

According to Article 4 of the Law on Value Added Tax publishing, editing and dissemination of books are exempt from VAT, except for books of an erotic and violent character.

VAT is calculated and paid into the budget by all persons with annual income above 100,000 Litas, such persons are required to register themselves with the State Tax Inspection. Persons whose annual (of the last twelve months) income ranges from 10,000 Litas ($2,500) to 100,000 Litas ($25,000) may, at their own option, register as a VAT payer, and calculate and pay VAT to the state budget beginning with the month following the month of registration. Persons who are not VAT payers do not have a right to collect VAT from buyers of goods or services.

According tot he Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Excise Duties of 12 April 1994 No.I-429 only publications of erotic and violent character are subject to the excise tax, calculated at the rate of 75% of the taxable value.

Other significant taxes are stamp duties, pollution tax, land tax and contributions to the State Road Fund.

According to the 19 February 1998 Law No VIII-633 of the Republic of Lithuania "On Customs Tariffs", all goods and other valuables imported into the customs territory of Lithuania are subject to taxation, except in special cases provided for by this Law.

Lithuania is a party to the United Nations Florence Treaty of 17 June 1950 "On Imports of Education, Science and Cultural Means and its Protocol of the year 1976" from 21 August 1998 with the reservations to Parts II and IV as well as Annexes C.1, F, G and H of the Protocol.

The provisions of the treaty were implemented in Lithuanian legislation by abolishing import customs on any imported goods with an educational, scientific or cultural destination (Article 6 of the Law on Customs Tariffs).

No licenses are required for the import of books.

No import quotas are applicable on the import of books.

Permits by certain institutions may also be necessary when importing certain goods as determined by acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania:

1) A health and quality certificate (given by the State Public Health Service at the Ministry of Health Care)

2) A hazardous or dangerous substance or product certificate (granted by the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Environment).

The importer must pay excise taxes of 75% erotic or violent publications.

Value Added Tax (VAT) of 18% is only applied to erotic and violent publications imported into Lithuania. VAT is levied on the customs value of goods, plus import duty and excise tax (if applicable). VAT on imports is paid through the procedure set by the Customs Service for the payment of import duties.

Import procedures may be performed at Customs offices located at border posts or with Customs offices located within Lithuania. Goods are usually inspected at the Customs offices located within the Customs territory of Lithuania (including Customs offices functioning at Customs warehouses, export/import terminals, and in other premises), where goods are declared and cleared.

All consumer goods must be declared and cleared.

Referring to Paragraph 3 of Article 32 of the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, each publication must contain the publication data provided by the state standard and international standard number of the publication. The following international standards are applied in the Republic of Lithuania: ISO 10957 (Information and Documentation - International Standard Music Number) and ISO 2108 (Information and Documentation – International Standard Book Number). The Lithuanian State Standardisation Service has approved the standard of the Republic of Lithuania “The Publishing Registration of Books”, valid since 1 July 1992. This standard provides the publishing data of publications, the sequence thereof and the form of the data to be provided. The publishing data of the book includes:

The first and last names of the author are indicated on the title page above the title.

Data on persons engaged in preparation of the book, which includes the character of the works concluded, must be indicated before the names of persons. The title as provided or approved by the author or publisher. The title is provided on the title page and repeated above the metrics. The pre-title consists of data on the organisation that prepared, has been engaged in preparation and (or) in whose name the book is published, as well as data on the series and multi-volume publication. The data is provided on the title page above the name of the author and title.

Post-title consists of data explaining the title, data on the literary genre, type of book, the form of provision of material, data on place and date of conferences, conventions, symposiums, congresses, consultations and similar events, data on the purpose of the book, data on the approval of a book as a textbook or study book, data on the compiler, scientific, managing editor, editorial board, artist, photography artist, draftsman, data on the translator, data on the language of original text, data on annexes of the book.

Publication data – place of publishing, publisher and publishing year. The data is provided at the bottom of the title page.

Data above metrics in Lithuanian. The following data of the title leaf is repeated in the following order: title of the series and number including the word “series”, full first and last name of the author, title of the book.

The metrics consists of the date of subscription to publishing, the printing sheet, circulation, number of the order of the publication in the polygraphy enterprise, title and mailing address of the publisher, title and mailing address of the polygraphy enterprise, price. Metrics is provided on the last page of publication or on the other side of the title sheet. Data is separated by full stops.

The standard provides that the other side of the title sheet must provide a copyright notice consisting of the following three elements: the letter C in a circle or in round brackets (C), the name of the author or his successor in title and the year of first publication of the work. Otherwise, the Law on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights provides authors or other holders of copyrights or neighbouring rights with the right, but not the obligation to make their mark there. In cases of competition, the provisions of the law prevail. According to the Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania No 760 of 9 October 1992, the institution that is empowered to control the application of this standard is the Bibliography and Book Research Centre of the National Library of Martynas Mazvydas. Though the provisions of the standard are obligatory to all publishers, no sanctions may be imposed for failing to follow these provisions.

The Producer of Public Information (a publishing house, radio and television station, film, sound and video studio, agency, editorial office or other economic entity, collecting and producing information for mass dissemination) is also obliged to provide an established number of their publications to libraries (Paragraph 4 of Article 32 of the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public and Article 21 of the Law on Libraries). The exact number is provided by the resolution of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania “on the Order of sending of Obligatory Copies of Publications and Other Documents to Libraries”. The law on the Provision of Information to the Public also implies that obligation established for the publishers in any case may not restrict their rights to publish. Therefore, publishers provide the libraries only with compulsory copies of those publications the circulation of which exceeds 100 copies, with the exception of the Centre of Bibliography and Book Research of the National Library of Martynas Mazvydas which is entitled to receive copies of all publications circulation of which exceeds 25 copies.

There are no central rules governing the pricing of books in Lithuania.

Some types of model contracts are approved by legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, otherwise this does not apply to book sector – i.e. neither model contracts with distributors nor with booksellers have been approved by legal acts. Otherwise, general legal rules for the conclusion of contracts apply. Firstly, as all commercial activity is executed only upon establishment of an enterprise and a distributor or/and a bookseller is an enterprise these contracts are concluded in a written form. Otherwise, in the event that the contract is not concluded in a written form, it does not that it is thereby rendered invalid. The contracts should include all essential provisions, such as parties of the agreement, the object of the contract, the price, etc.

Up-to-date legal regulation of copyright exists in the Republic of Lithuania since material amendments of Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania were made in 1994. Due to these amendments the legal base of copyright protection is consistent with international standards. On 9 June 1999 the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights No. VIII-1185 was enacted. The said law supplemented and updated the regulation of copyrights in the Republic of Lithuania. Due to the legal principle of “non-retrocity” of legal acts, the new law is only applied to legal relations arising from 9 June 1999.

In the field of copyright, Lithuania is a party to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation (signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967 and as amended on September 28, 1979) since 30 April 1992. Lithuania acceded to Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Paris Act) in 1994. It is worth mentioning that while acceding to the Berne Convention a declaration was made as permitted under Paragraph 2 Article 33 of this Convention, that Lithuania does not consider itself bound by the provisions of paragraph 1 of the same article - i.e. the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. At the moment the Republic of Lithuania is also going to become a party to the Universal Copyright Convention. Otherwise, no legal action for accession to the said Convention has been made yet.

Provisions on copyright are also included in bilateral free trade agreements of the Republic of Lithuania. In particular, agreements with Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Slovakia, the Republic of Turkey were concluded. The provisions of these agreements are almost identical and may differ in wording only.

Referring to variations allowed by international usage, Lithuania has adopted international standard with the exception of the term of protection afforded to economic copyrights. The Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights under the same conditions establishes a longer term of copyright protection equalling 70 years.

Article 16 of the Law on Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights provides for the rights of an author to remuneration for the transferred exclusive right to supply a work for unreimbursable use in the event that books and other publications are supplied at libraries. The amount and the order of payment of such remuneration is established by the Government with respect to propositions of the Council of Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights. Otherwise, the said remuneration is not paid if books and other publications are supplied for unreimbursable use in the libraries of education and academic institutions. Following provisions of Article 72 of this law this article has not come into force yet, no legal acts regarding this provision have been adopted and authors do not enjoy their right to author’s remuneration for such use of their works, either. This provision came into force on 1 July 2000.

Article 60 of the Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights provide that in the Republic of Lithuania the rights of foreign authors and holders of neighbouring rights are fulfilled by associations of collective administration only following bilateral and multilateral agreements signed with the respective associations of collective administration of foreign states empowered to represent these persons. According to the law, foreign authors are afforded national treatment. In the Republic of Lithuania the organisation administering the rights of authors is a non-profit organisation, the Lithuanian Copyright Protection Association Agency, established by Lithuanian writer’s unions. The purpose of the association-agency is to protect rights of copyright holders, transferred to the agency by agreement, to ensure wider and more effective use of works. At present the Lithuanian Copyright Protection Association Agency has concluded bilateral agreements on the protection of copyrights with particular authors' organisations from the following foreign countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Japan, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Macedonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, SAR, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the USA.

The Law on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights provides for the general conditions of contracts with authors. The law provides for two types of contracts, a rights transfer contract and a licence (either exclusive or non-exclusive) contract. The contracts are concluded in written form. Otherwise, a written format is not obligatory for contracts on publishing works in periodical publications. The law also provides for the following material provisions to be included in the contract:

The law also provides that in cases where the contract does not provide the term that the rights are transferred or the licence is granted for, each party of the contract may terminate the contract with written notice to the other party one year prior to the intended termination.

According to the 3 July Law No. I-1428 “On Public Institutions”, a non-profit organisation is an entity with the rights of legal person, established in accordance with the procedure prescribed by laws for a purpose other than profit-making. Its profit cannot be distributed to its founders, members, partners (owner). The following types of non-profit organisations are recognised in the Republic of Lithuania – a public institution, an association, a charity, a sponsorship fund, and a public organisation. There are no special provisions for non-profit organisations applicable to the book-sector.

Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Law on Associations of 14 March 1996 No. 1231 and Paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Law on Charity and Sponsorship Funds of 14 March 1996 No. I-1232 prohibit associations and charity and sponsorship funds from engaging in any commercial activity.

Article 10 of the Law on Public Organisations directly provides for the right of a public organisation to be engaged in publishing activities, otherwise other non-profit organisations are also entitled to be engaged in publishing, though this it is not directly provided by law.

Non-profit organisations are subject to the payment of taxes as described above. Otherwise, these organisations are provided with corporate income tax privileges.

According to Item 2 of Paragraph 1of Article 1 of the Law on Profit Tax of Legal Persons of the Republic of Lithuania, profit tax is also imposed on legal persons engaged in non-commercial activities but who received income from commercial-economic activity. Taxable profit of legal persons engaged in non-commercial activity shall be computed as the difference between the income from paid measures and their performance costs. According to Article 8 of the above-mentioned Law, the 5% rate shall be applicable to the profit of organisations (enterprises) which, according to the law regulating their setting up and activity or pursuant to Government decree are non-profit organisations.

The Ministry of Science and Education holds the initiative for the publishing of textbooks. Due to the fact that the Ministry of Science and Education is a governmental institution, all purchases of goods and services are provided for by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Purchases No. VIII – 1210 of 3 June 1999 (a new version has been valid since 1 October 1999). The said Ministry announces tenders for the publication of a book. Any publishing company is entitled to take part in the competition. Several commissions, such as the Commission on Publishing, the Commission on Establishment of Fair of Prices, etc. review proposals by competitors. The winner of the competition is registered, the book is granted a registration number and is included in the list of the published books. The Ministry of Science and Culture has approved their internal document on maximum prices paid to the publishers and authors of books. Otherwise, these prices are only applied to those books that are purchased by the Ministry from budget funds for secondary schools, professional schools and higher education establishments. The publisher is entitled to publish more textbooks than are ordered by the Ministry of Science and Education and distribute these textbooks for sale in bookshops at any price that the publisher deems proper.