Moscow, Jan 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A court in Munich has banned British publisher Peter McGee from printing excerpts in Germany from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” because it breaches copyright laws.

McGee planned to publish excerpts from the book accompanied with commentaries as a supplement to his weekly newspaper, the Focus magazine reported Thursday.

However, the finance ministry of Germany’s Bavaria state filed a lawsuit banning the publication of the materials saying they breach copyrights to the book held by the state.

Copyrights to any books in European countries expire 70 years after the death of the writer. After that books become public property and can be published without consent of the copyright holder or payment of any royalties. The official date of Hitler’s death is April 30, 1945.

McGee’s intention to publish excerpts from Hitler’s book has created mixed reactions in Germany. The publisher previously said he just wanted to give the public an opportunity to critically examine the original text of Hitler’s work.

“Mein Kampf” was written by Hitler after he was jailed following a failed plot in Bavaria in 1923. It is currently banned in Germany.

–IANS/RIA Novosti
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