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.
| 1545* | Venetian Decree on Author-Printer Relations (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
| 1546* | Privilege Granted to Enea Vico (Parmigiano) (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
| 1556* | Privilege Granted to Giovanni Ostaus (Italy) Commentary: [1] |
| 1590* | Giovanni Fratta's 'On the Dedication of Books' (Italy) |
| 1656* | Privilege du Roy [Charles Le Brun] (France) |
| 1676* | Decree on Sculptures (France) |
| 1701* | Censorship Instruction for Newspapers, Denmark–Norway (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
| 1725-1726* | Pierre-Jacques Blondel's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1735 | The Case of Designers, Engravers, Etchers, &c. (United Kingdom) |
| 1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1750 | Fritsch: Treatise on Book Printers, Booksellers, Paper Manufacturers and Bookbinders (Germany) |
| 1759* | Sieur d'Anville's contract (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1763* | Diderot's Letter on the book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1765* | Philipp Erasmus Reich and the Leipzig publishers' cartel (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1770* | Luneau de Boisjermain's case (France) |
| 1773 | Rescript on Post-Publication Censorship (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
| 1774* | Pütter: The Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1777* | Royal declaration on sculpture and painting (France) |
| 1777* | Linguet's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1780* | Dramatic Act (France) |
| 1783 | Letter from Joel Barlow to the Continental Congress (United States) |
| 1794* | Petition by citizen makers of plaster casts to the National Convention, 3rd March (France) |
| 1799* | Renewed Censorship Legislation, Denmark–Norway (Scandinavia) |
| 1810 | Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
| 1812* | Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance (Scandinavia) |
| 1821* | Hegel: Remarks on Intellectual Property (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1826* | Minutes of the 1825-1826 Commission (France) |
| 1832* | Gans: On the right to perform published stage plays (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1832 | Parliamentary Debates on Drama and Dramatic Literature (31 May) (United Kingdom) |
| 1837 | Petition of British Authors (United States) |
| 1837 | Debates in Congress (United States) |
| 1838 | Address of Certain Authors (United States) |
| 1838 | Report, from the Committee on Patents (United States) |
| 1838 | Memorial of a Number of Citizens of Boston (United States) |
| 1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
| 1842* | Court of Cassation on artistic property (France) Commentary: [1] |
| 1848 | Jay, Bryant and Others' Memorials (United States) |
| 1853* | Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1853 | Letters on International copyright (United States) |
| 1853* | Stowe v. Thomas (United States) Commentary: [1] |
| 1857* | Wächter: 'Publishing Right' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
| 1862* | Fine Art Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1870* | Copinger's Law of Copyright (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
| 1878* | Morillot on the author's right (France) |
| 1878 | Royal Commission on Copyright: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |
| 1890 | Report on H.R. 10881 (United States) |
