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.
1502 | Aldus Manutius's Petition against Counterfeiters (Italy) |
1503* | Aldus Manutius's Warning against the Printers of Lyon (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1526 | Papal and Venetian Privileges for Sigismondo Fanti's 'Triompho di Fortuna' (Italy) |
1530* | La Fleur de la science de pourtraicture (France) |
1531* | Antonio Blado's privilege for Machiavelli's works (Italy) |
1531* | Bernardo Giunti's privilege for Machiavelli's works (Italy) |
1532 | Antonio Blado's edition of Machiavelli's 'History of Florence' (Italy) |
1644 | Milton's Areopagitica (United Kingdom) |
1690s* | Memorandum on the dispute between the Parisian and the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1] |
1776* | Fragments on the Freedom of the Press (France) Commentary: [1] |
1781* | 'Pezzana e Consorti' case: counter-petition and rulings (Italy) |
1841 | Parliamentary Debates on the Copyright Bill (5 Feb.) (United Kingdom) |
1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
1878 | Royal Commission on Copyright: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |