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] |
1486* | Marco Antonio Sabellico's Printing Privilege (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1502 | Aldus Manutius's Petition against Counterfeiters (Italy) |
1503* | Aldus Manutius's Warning against the Printers of Lyon (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1504* | Privilege Granted to Benedetto Bordon (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1515* | Galliot Du Pré's Privilege (France) Commentary: [1] |
1556 (1555 m.v.)* | Privilege Granted to Antonio Floriano (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
1559* | Elizabethan Injunctions (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1586* | Simon Marion's plea on privileges (France) Commentary: [1] |
1590* | Giovanni Fratta's 'On the Dedication of Books' (Italy) |
1649 | Book trade regulations (France) |
1650s* | Vitré's memorandum on the prolongation of privileges (France) |
1693 | Locke's Memorandum on the 1662 Act (United Kingdom) |
1695 | Reasons for objecting to the renewal of the Licensing Act (United Kingdom) |
1725-1726* | Pierre-Jacques Blondel's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1763* | Diderot's Letter on the book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
1776* | Gaultier's memorandum for the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1] |
1778* | Pluquet's letters (France) Commentary: [1] |
1784 | South Carolina Copyright Statute (United States) |
1818 | Select Committee Report: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |
1846* | Bilateral Treaty between Prussia and Britain (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1857* | Wächter: 'Publishing Right' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1868* | Proudhon: 'Les Majorats littéraires' (France) |