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.
| 1513* | Imperial privilege for Eucharius Rösslin Commentary: [1] |
| 1517 | Privilege of the Duke of Bavaria |
| 1531* | Basel Printers' Statute Commentary: [1] |
| 1533* | Schott v. Egenolph Commentary: [1] |
| 1545* | Luther's 'Warning to the Printers' Commentary: [1] |
| 1591 | A publisher's 'Friendly Reminder' about reprints |
| 1658* | Schupp: The Book Thief Commentary: [1] |
| 1660* | Frankfurt Printers' Ordinance Commentary: [1] |
| 1673 | Nuremberg Printers' Ordinance |
| 1675* | Counterfeited Privilege in Grimmelshausen's 'The Magic Bird's Nest' Commentary: [1] |
| 1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books Commentary: [1] |
| 1740 | Privilege of the Protestant Swiss Cantons |
| 1765* | Philipp Erasmus Reich and the Leipzig publishers' cartel Commentary: [1] |
| 1765 | Reich v. Pauli |
| 1766 | Prussian Cabinet Order |
| 1773* | Saxonian Statute Commentary: [1] |
| 1774* | Pütter: The Reprinting of Books Commentary: [1] |
| 1781 | Chodowiecki's Allegory 'Works of Darkness' |
| 1785* | Kant: On the Unlawfulness of Reprinting Commentary: [1] |
| 1790* | J.F.F. Ganz's draft for a general ban on reprinting within the whole Empire Commentary: [1] |
| 1793* | Fichte: Proof of the Unlawfulness of Reprinting Commentary: [1] |
| 1799* | Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books Commentary: [1] |
| 1809* | Baden Civil Code Commentary: [1] |
| 1815* | Annotated Publishers' Petition to the Congress of Vienna Commentary: [1] |
| 1824* | Neustetel: The Reprinting of Books Commentary: [1] |
| 1827* | Treaties on reciprocal protection between Prussia and various German States Commentary: [1] |
| 1829 | Music publishers' agreement to ban reprinting |
| 1830* | Amended music publishers' agreement against piracy Commentary: [1] |
| 1832* | Gans: On the right to perform published stage plays Commentary: [1] |
| 1837* | Prussian Copyright Act Commentary: [1] |
| 1838 | Ordinance on the Establishment of Societies of Copyright Experts |
| 1844* | Saxon Copyright Act Commentary: [1] |
| 1846 | Expert Opinion on Schelling v. Paulus |
| 1846* | Austrian Copyright Act Commentary: [1] |
| 1853* | Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights Commentary: [1] |
| 1870* | Copyright Act for the German Empire Commentary: [1] |
| 1884 | Bilateral treaty between Switzerland and France |
| 1891 | 50 Prussian Expert Opinions from 1870-1876 |
