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.
1772 | William Billings' Printing Privilege (United States) |
1783 | Petition of John Ledyard (United States) |
1790-1800 | Sample registrations (United States) |
1826 | Letter from Daniel Webster to Noah Webster (United States) |
1828 | Letter from Donaldson to Peters (United States) |
1838 | Memorial of the New York Typographical Society (United States) |
1838 | Memorial of a Number of Citizens of Boston (United States) |
1841* | Folsom v. Marsh (United States) Commentary: [1] |
1843 | An Address to the People of the United States (United States) |
1847* | A Treatise on the Law of Copyright (United States) Commentary: [1] |
1853 | Letters on International copyright (United States) |
1853 | Affidavit of Harriet Beecher Stowe (United States) |
1888 | American Authors and British Pirates (United States) |
1890 | Report on H.R. 10881 (United States) |
1896 | Hearing on H.R. 5976 (United States) |
1896 | The Question of Copyright (United States) |