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.
| 1479* | Privilege of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1485 | Censorship Edict of the Archbishop of Mainz (Germany) |
| 1501* | Imperial Senate privilege to the Sodalitas Celtica (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1511 | Privilege of the Bishop of Strasbourg (Germany) |
| 1513* | Imperial privilege for Eucharius Rösslin (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1518* | The Articles of the Pope's Bulle (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1525 | Luther's 'Admonition to the Printers' (Germany) |
| 1534 | Privilege of the Elector of Saxony (Germany) |
| 1538* | Henrician Proclamation (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1545* | Luther's 'Warning to the Printers' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1547* | French Censorship Act (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1552 | Letter Concerning the Danish Bible (Scandinavia) |
| 1553* | Totell's Printing Patent (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1553 | William Seres' Printing Patent (United Kingdom) |
| 1554 | Selected Extracts from the Stationers' Company's Registers (United Kingdom) |
| 1556* | Privilege Granted to Giovanni Ostaus (Italy) |
| 1558* | Censorship Rules (Spain) |
| 1558 | Calve's privilege for the 'Holsome and Catholick Doctrine' (United Kingdom) |
| 1559* | Elizabethan Injunctions (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1559 | Seres' patent for Primers and Psalters (United Kingdom) |
| 1565 | Lauritz Benedicht's Printing Monopoly (Scandinavia) |
| 1572 | Privilege for Petrus Johannis Godhus (Scandinavia) |
| 1617 | Continued Ban on Possessing, Selling or Distributing Imported Books, Denmark–Norway (Scandinavia) |
| 1624* | Statute of Monopolies (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1637* | Star Chamber Decree (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1649 | Book trade regulations (France) |
| 1650s* | Vitré's memorandum on the prolongation of privileges (France) |
| 1657 | Preface to Silesius's Chant Book (Germany) |
| 1662* | Licensing Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1665* | French book trade regulations (France) |
| 1686* | Book trade regulations (France) |
| 1688 | Establishment of a Printing Press in Iceland (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
| 1690s* | Memorandum on the dispute between the Parisian and the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1709 | Reasons Humbly Offer'd to the Consideration of the Honourable House of Commons (United Kingdom) |
| 1713 | Augsburg Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
| 1723 | Freedom to Print Non-Privileged Books, Denmark–Norway (Scandinavia) |
| 1724* | Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717 (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1741* | The Danish Copyright Ordinance (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
| 1752* | Juan Curiel as Censor (Spain) |
| 1775* | Stationers' Company v. Carnan (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1778* | Pluquet's letters (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1785* | Austrian Statutes on Censorship and Printing (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
| 1868* | Proudhon: 'Les Majorats littéraires' (France) |
