PRIMARY SOURCES

ON COPYRIGHT

(1450-1900)


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.


All | Germany | United Kingdom | France | United States | Italy | Vatican | Spain | Jewish Law | | Portugal


Core documents: Place England

Back | Search term in commentaries | 34 results(* indicates core document)

1559* Day's privilege for The Cosmographical Glass (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1624* Statute of Monopolies (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1643* The Humble Remonstrance of the Stationers' Company (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1650s* Vitré's memorandum on the prolongation of privileges (France)
1690* Locke's Second Treatise on Government (selected extracts) (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1690s* Memorandum on the dispute between the Parisian and the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1]
1704* Defoe's Essay on the Press (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1710* Statute of Anne (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1737* Booksellers' Bill (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1738* Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1]
1740* Encyclopaedia Article on 'The Reprinting of Books' (Germany) Commentary: [1]
1762* An Enquiry into Literary Property (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1763* Diderot's Letter on the book trade (France) Commentary: [1]
1774* Donaldson v. Becket (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1776* Gaultier's memorandum for the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1]
1777* Linguet's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1]
1778* Pluquet's letters (France) Commentary: [1]
1781* Andrew Law's Petition (United States) Commentary: [1]
1787* Calico Printers' Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1791* Le Chapelier's report (France) Commentary: [1]
1801* Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1828* Maugham's Treatise (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1830* Amended music publishers' agreement against piracy (Germany) Commentary: [1]
1834* Balzac's letter to authors (France)
1834* Wheaton v. Peters (United States)
1834* Wheaton v. Peters Independent Report (United States)
1841* Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France)
1842* Lowndes' Historical Sketch of the Law of Copyright (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1847* A Treatise on the Law of Copyright (United States) Commentary: [1]
1854* Jeffreys v. Boosey (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1862* Fine Art Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1868* Proudhon: 'Les Majorats littéraires' (France)
1870* Copinger's Law of Copyright (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]
1878* Royal Commissioners' Report (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1]