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.
1469* | Johannes of Speyer's Printing Monopoly (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1479* | Privilege of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1485 | Censorship Edict of the Archbishop of Mainz (Germany) |
1486* | Marco Antonio Sabellico's Printing Privilege (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1501* | Imperial Senate privilege to the Sodalitas Celtica (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1501 | Vergilius (Italy) |
1502 | Privilege of the Imperial Senate for Works of Conrad Celtis (Germany) |
1503* | Aldus Manutius's Warning against the Printers of Lyon (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1506 | 'Lamentationum Jeremie Prophete' (Italy) |
1511* | Imperial Privilege for Albrecht Dürer (Germany) |
1511 | Privilege of the Bishop of Strasbourg (Germany) |
1515 | Imperial Privilege for Konrad Peutinger (Germany) |
1516 | Imperial Privilege for Johannes Eck (Germany) |
1517 | Privilege of the Duke of Bavaria (Germany) |
1517* | Venetian Decree on Press Affairs (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1526 | Papal and Venetian Privileges for Sigismondo Fanti's 'Triompho di Fortuna' (Italy) |
1531* | Antonio Blado's privilege for Machiavelli's works (Italy) |
1531* | Bernardo Giunti's privilege for Machiavelli's works (Italy) |
1534 | Melchiore Sessa's privilege for Machiavelli's works (Italy) |
1539 | Appointment of Academic Printer at the University of Copenhagen () |
1560 | Counterfeited papal privilege (Germany) |
1582* | Revocation of Papal privilege to print and distribute Roman [Gregorian] Calendar and Martyrology (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1587* | Privilege to Giovanni Giolito di Ferrari for publication of Paolo Comitolo's "Catena in Beatissimum Job," and revocation of Jean Stratius' privilege in the same work (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1588* | Petition of and Privilege to Tolomeo Veltroni for illustrated edition of the Statutes of the Knights of Malta (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1589* | Petitions from and Privilege granted to Gerard Voss for his Latin translation of the works of St. Ephrem of Syria (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1589* | Bosio's edition of the Statutes of the Knights of Malta (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1593* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Antonio Tempesta for a map of Rome (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1598* | Petition of and Privilege to Orazio Torsellini for his History of the House of Loreto (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1600* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Pietro Fetti to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1603* | Privilege granted to Francisco Soto to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1603* | Petition and Privilege for printing and distributing the Summa of St. Raymond of Peñafort (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1604* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Cosimo Gaci to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1791 | Fauth: On reprinting of books without the knowledge and consent of the first publisher (Germany) |