This is a freely-accessible, publicly-funded digital archive that collects together significant documents relating to the history of copyright law and practice. The documents have been selected by national editors, with the input of an editorial advisory board. Key documents are, where appropriate, transcribed and translated. The editors have written commentaries, explaining the reasons for selecting documents and their significance. The project was launched in 2008, initially funded by the AHRC in relation to 5 countries. Since 2024 it is supported by the AHRC as UK research infrastructure. The archive now extends to more than 20 (including historical and religious) jurisdictions and over 700 primary source documents. They can be browsed by date/language/jurisdiction, or searched.
1479* | Privilege of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1485 | Censorship Edict of the Archbishop of Mainz (Germany) |
1501* | Imperial Senate privilege to the Sodalitas Celtica (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1502 | Privilege of the Imperial Senate for Works of Conrad Celtis (Germany) |
1511* | Imperial Privilege for Arnolt Schlick (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1511* | Imperial Privilege for Albrecht Dürer (Germany) |
1511 | Privilege of the Bishop of Strasbourg (Germany) |
1512 | Lyrical Reference to an Imperial privilege for Arnolt Schlick (Germany) |
1513* | Imperial privilege for Eucharius Rösslin (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1515 | Imperial Privilege for Konrad Peutinger (Germany) |
1516 | Imperial Privilege for Johannes Eck (Germany) |
1517 | Privilege of the Duke of Bavaria (Germany) |
1525 | Luther's 'Admonition to the Printers' (Germany) |
1531* | Basel Printers' Statute (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1533* | Schott v. Egenolph (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1534 | Privilege of the Elector of Saxony (Germany) |
1545* | Luther's 'Warning to the Printers' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1560 | Counterfeited papal privilege (Germany) |
1591 | A publisher's 'Friendly Reminder' about reprints (Germany) |
1598 | Frankfurt Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
1657 | Preface to Silesius's Chant Book (Germany) |
1658* | Schupp: The Book Thief (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1660* | Frankfurt Printers' Ordinance (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1666 | Henning: The Highly Lauded Bookmaker (Germany) |
1673 | Nuremberg Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
1675* | Counterfeited Privilege in Grimmelshausen's 'The Magic Bird's Nest' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1690 | Amendment to the Frankfurt Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
1690 | Beier: On the Book Trade and its Privileges (Germany) |
1713* | 'Books Constitution' of Emperor Rudolf II (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1713 | Augsburg Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
1724* | Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717 (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1740 | Privilege of the Protestant Swiss Cantons (Germany) |
1740* | Encyclopaedia Article on 'The Reprinting of Books' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1750 | Fritsch: Treatise on Book Printers, Booksellers, Paper Manufacturers and Bookbinders (Germany) |
1765* | Philipp Erasmus Reich and the Leipzig publishers' cartel (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1765 | Reich v. Pauli (Germany) |
1766 | Prussian Cabinet Order (Germany) |
1773* | Saxonian Statute (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1773 | Reimarus: The publishing of books (Germany) |
1773 | Reich: On Book Publishing (Germany) |
1773 | On Klopstock's proclamation of a 'Republic of Scholars' (Germany) |
1774* | Pütter: The Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1774 | The Justified Reprinter (Germany) |
1774 | Imperial Privilege for a reprint series (Germany) |
1774 | The justified reprinter (Germany) |
1774 | Booktrade in Austria (Germany) |
1781 | Chodowiecki's Allegory 'Works of Darkness' (Germany) |
1784 | Cella: On Reprinting of Books (Germany) |
1785* | Austrian Statutes on Censorship and Printing (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1785* | Kant: On the Unlawfulness of Reprinting (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1785 | Imperial privilege for Aloysius Blumauer's Travesty of Virgil's 'Aeneid' (Germany) |
1786 | The Slandered Man (Germany) |
1788 | On literature and the book trade in Austria (Germany) |
1789 | Becker: On the property right in intellectual works (Germany) |
1790 | The Blue Man (pseudonym): Reprinting, contra and pro (Germany) |
1790 | Vindication of property against robbery (Germany) |
1790* | J.F.F. Ganz's draft for a general ban on reprinting within the whole Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1790 | J.F.F. Ganz's draft for a general ban of reprinting [extended version] (Germany) |
1791 | Reimarus: Book Publishing (Germany) |
1791 | Fauth: On reprinting of books without the knowledge and consent of the first publisher (Germany) |
1792 | Knigge: On the Reprinting of Books (Germany) |
1792 | Reimarus: Publishing right with regard to reprinting (Germany) |
1792 [1791] | Müller: On Publication Piracy (Germany) |
1793* | Fichte: Proof of the Unlawfulness of Reprinting (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1794* | Prussian Statute Book (ALR) (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1794* | Contract between Schiller and Cotta (Germany) |
1796 | Lobethan: On Publishers' Privileges (Germany) |
1799* | Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1806 | Reprinting Regulation for the Grand Duchy of Baden (Germany) |
1809* | Baden Civil Code (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1813 | Bavarian Penal Law Book (Germany) |
1815* | Annotated Publishers' Petition to the Congress of Vienna (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1821* | Hegel: Remarks on Intellectual Property (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1824* | Neustetel: The Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1827* | Treaties on reciprocal protection between Prussia and various German States (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1827* | Kramer: Rights of Writers and Publishers (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1829 | Music publishers' agreement to ban reprinting (Germany) |
1829 | Printing statutes in the Canton of Zürich (Germany) |
1829 | Hessen Copyright Act (Germany) |
1830* | Amended music publishers' agreement against piracy (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1832* | Gans: On the right to perform published stage plays (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1834 | Review of Neustetel's book (Germany) |
1835* | Copyright statement of Johann Strauss for Austria and Prussia (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1837* | Prussian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1837* | Directive for reciprocal copyright protection within the German Confederation (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1838 | Ordinance on the Establishment of Societies of Copyright Experts (Germany) |
1840* | Bilateral Treaty between Austria and Sardinia (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1840 | Hölzl: On Reprinting of books (Germany) |
1844* | Saxon Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1844 | Commentary on the Saxon Copyright Act (Germany) |
1846* | Bilateral Treaty between Prussia and Britain (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1846 | Expert Opinion on Schelling v. Paulus (Germany) |
1846* | Austrian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1846 | Handbook of German press legislation (Germany) |
1848 | Expert opinions of the Prussian Literary Experts' Association 1838-1847 (Germany) |
1852 | Theory of Reprinting. Presented according to the directives of the German Confederation (Germany) |
1853 | Bilateral Treaty between Hamburg and Great Britain (Germany) |
1853* | Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1857* | Wächter: 'Publishing Right' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1867* | Schäffle: 'Authors' rights as an artificial means for safeguarding remuneration and annuities' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1867* | Mandry: Commentary on the Bavarian Copyright Act of 1865 (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1870* | Copyright Act for the German Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1870 | Societies of Copyright Experts (Germany) |
1876* | Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1877* | Gareis: Juridical Nature of Author's Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1880* | Kohler: Author's Right (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1884 | Bilateral treaty between Switzerland and France (Germany) |
1884* | Orelli: 'Swiss Copyright Act 1883 with comments and appendices' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1891 | 50 Prussian Expert Opinions from 1870-1876 (Germany) |
1892* | Bilateral treaty between the German Reich and the U.S.A. (Germany) Commentary: [1] |