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.
1554 | Selected Extracts from the Stationers' Company's Registers (United Kingdom) |
1558 | Phayer's privilege for Virgil's Aeneid (United Kingdom) |
1559 | Day's The Cosmographical Glass (United Kingdom) |
1559 | Seres' patent for Primers and Psalters (United Kingdom) |
1559 | Totell's patent for Common Law Books (United Kingdom) |
1658* | Schupp: The Book Thief (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1706 | Reasons Humbly Offer'd for the Bill for the Encouragement of Learning (United Kingdom) |
1709 | Reasons Humbly Offer'd for the Bill for the Encouragement of Learning (United Kingdom) |
1725-1726* | Louis d'Héricourt's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
1737 | An Act for the Encouragement of Learning (Draft) (United Kingdom) |
1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1738* | Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1740* | Encyclopaedia Article on 'The Reprinting of Books' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1751 | Tonson v. Walker (United Kingdom) |
1759* | Sieur d'Anville's contract (France) Commentary: [1] |
1762* | Royal declaration on privileges granted to inventors (France) Commentary: [1] |
1762 | A Vindication of the Rights of Authors (United Kingdom) |
1765 | Reich v. Pauli (Germany) |
1766 | Engravers' Copyright Act (United Kingdom) |
1769* | Millar v. Taylor (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1773 | Information for Messrs John Hinton et al (United Kingdom) |
1774 | The Cases of the Appellants and Respondents (United Kingdom) |
1777* | Linguet's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
1778* | Pluquet's letters (France) Commentary: [1] |
1781 | Andrew Law's Privilege (United States) |
1783 | Massachusetts Copyright Statute (United States) |
1783 | Maryland Copyright Statute (United States) |
1783 | New Jersey Copyright Statute (United States) |
1784 | Pennsylvania Copyright Statute (United States) |
1785* | Kant: On the Unlawfulness of Reprinting (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1785 | Virginia Copyright Statute (United States) |
1786 | Georgia Copyright Statute (United States) |
1786 | New York Copyright Statute (United States) |
1790* | Sieyès' report (France) Commentary: [1] |
1791* | Le Chapelier's report (France) Commentary: [1] |
1791* | Report of François Hell to the National Assembly (France) Commentary: [1] |
1792 | Purcell's Printing Privilege (United States) |
1793* | Fichte: Proof of the Unlawfulness of Reprinting (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1793* | French Literary and Artistic Property Act (France) Commentary: [1] |
1794* | Prussian Statute Book (ALR) (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1809* | Baden Civil Code (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1814* | Court of Cassation on sculptures (France) Commentary: [1] |
1815* | Annotated Publishers' Petition to the Congress of Vienna (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1821* | Hegel: Remarks on Intellectual Property (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1826* | Minutes of the 1825-1826 Commission (France) |
1830 | Letter from John McLean to Richard Peters Jr. (United States) |
1835* | Copyright statement of Johann Strauss for Austria and Prussia (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1837* | Directive for reciprocal copyright protection within the German Confederation (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1838 | Copyright Bill (27 Feb.) (United Kingdom) |
1838 | Copyright Bill (6 June) (United Kingdom) |
1838 | Memorial of a Number of Citizens of Boston (United States) |
1839 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1840* | Bilateral Treaty between Austria and Sardinia (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1840 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
1841 | Court of Cassation on artistic property (France) |
1841 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1842* | Court of Cassation on artistic property (France) Commentary: [1] |
1842* | Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1842 | Bill to Amend the Law of Copyright (4 March) (United Kingdom) |
1842 | Bill to Amend the Law of Copyright (23 March) (United Kingdom) |
1842 | Bill to Amend the Law of Copyright (21 April) (United Kingdom) |
1844* | Saxon Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1845* | Court of Appeal on translations (France) Commentary: [1] |
1846* | Austrian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1852 | Copyright and Natural Right (United States) |
1853* | Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1853 | Blaine's Laws of Artistic Copyright (United Kingdom) |
1853 | British-American Copyright Convention Draft (United States) |
1853 | Stowe v. Thomas, Complainant's Bill (United States) |
1853 | Stowe v. Thomas, Defendant's Answer (United States) |
1853 | Affidavit of Harriet Beecher Stowe (United States) |
1857* | Wächter: 'Publishing Right' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1862 | Bretón de los Herreros' Copyright Contract (Spain) |
1862* | Fine Art Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1866* | Literary and artistic property act (France) |
1870* | Copyright Act for the German Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1876* | Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1877* | Gareis: Juridical Nature of Author's Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1880* | Kohler: Author's Right (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1884 | Bilateral treaty between Switzerland and France (Germany) |
1886 | Correspondence respecting the Copyright Union (United Kingdom) |
1891 | 50 Prussian Expert Opinions from 1870-1876 (Germany) |
1899 | Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., District Court Decision (United States) |
1900 | Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., Circuit Court Decision (United States) |
1902* | Court of Cassation on moral rights (France) Commentary: [1] |
1902 | Bleistein: Donaldson Lithographing Co. Brief (United States) |