Home | Launch conference | Methodology | Editorial board | Acknowledgements | Contact








Core documents by:
Date
Place



Core documents for:
Italy
Germany
France
Britain
United States



All documents for:
Italy
Germany
France
Britain
United States


Original language:
English
French
German
Italian
Latin


Browse documents by:
   Person
... by name
... by occupation
... by life dates

Place
Institution
Legislation
Case law


Browse commentaries by:
   Person
... by name
... by occupation
... by life dates

Place
Institution
Legislation
Case law


Browse database by:
Key words



Editors' login:





Core documents by date

1469: Italy
Johannes of Speyer's Printing Monopoly

1474: Italy
Venetian Statute on Industrial Brevets

1479: Germany
Privilege of the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg

1486: Italy
Marco Antonio Sabellico's Printing Privilege

1498: Italy
Ottaviano Petrucci's Music Patent

1501: Germany
Imperial Senate privilege to the Sodalitas Celtica

1503: Italy
Aldus Manutius's Warning against the Printers of Lyon

1504: Italy
A woodcut by Albrecht Dürer plagiarized by Marcantonio Raimondi

1507: France
Eloy d'Amerval's privilege

1511: Germany
Imperial Privilege for Albrecht Dürer

1511: Germany
Imperial Privilege for Arnolt Schlick

1513: Germany
Imperial privilege for Eucharius Rösslin

1515: France
Galliot Du Pré's Privilege

1515: Italy
Ariosto's Printing Privilege

1516: Italy
Appointment of Andrea Navagero as Literary Censor

1517: Italy
Venetian Decree on Press Affairs

1518: United Kingdom
The Articles of the Pope's Bulle

1527: Italy
Venetian Decree on Pre-publication Censorship

1531: Germany
Basel Printers' Statute

1531: Italy
Antonio Blado's privilege for Machiavelli's works

1531: Italy
Bernardo Giunti's privilege for Machiavelli's works

1533: Germany
Schott v. Egenolph

1538: United Kingdom
Henrician Proclamation

1541: Germany
Luther's "Warning to the Printers"

1545: Italy
Antonio Catalano's Teaching Licence

1545: Italy
Venetian Decree on Author-Printer Relations

1547: France
French Censorship Act

1549: Germany
Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717

1549: Italy
Decree Establishing the Venetian Guild of Printers and Booksellers

1549: Italy
Statutes of the Venetian Guild of Printers and Booksellers

1552: France
General privilege granted to Adrien Le Roy and Robert Ballard

1553: United Kingdom
Totell's Printing Patent

1557: United Kingdom
Stationers' Charter

1559: United Kingdom
Day's privilege for The Cosmographical Glass

1559: United Kingdom
Elizabethan Injunctions

1566: United Kingdom
Star Chamber Decree

1568: Italy
Giorgio Vasari, Life of Marcantonio of Bologna and Other Engravers of Prints

1586: France
Simon Marion's plea on privileges

1586: United Kingdom
Star Chamber Decree

1590: Italy
Giovanni Fratta's "On the Dedication of Books"

1596: Italy
Motu proprio controversy

1603: Italy
Venetian Decree on Privileges for New Books and Reprints

1608: Germany
"Books Constitution" of Emperor Rudolf II

1618: France
Book trade regulations and incorporation of the Parisian book trade

1624: United Kingdom
Statute of Monopolies

1637: United Kingdom
Star Chamber Decree

1643: United Kingdom
The Humble Remonstrance of the Stationers' Company

1650: France
Vitré's memorandum on the prolongation of privileges

1659: Germany
Schupp: The Book Thief

1660: France
Decree on Engravings

1660: Germany
Frankfurt Printers' Ordinance

1662: United Kingdom
Licensing Act

1665: France
French book trade regulations

1667: United Kingdom
Milton's Contract

1672: USA
Usher's Printing Privilege

1675: Germany
Counterfeited Privilege in Grimmelshausen's "The Magic Bird's Nest"

1676: France
Decree on Sculptures

1686: France
Book trade regulations

1690: France
Memorandum on the dispute between the Parisian and the provincial booksellers

1690: United Kingdom
Locke's Second Treatise on Government (selected extracts)

1701: France
Royal letters patent

1704: United Kingdom
Defoe's Essay on the Press

1710: United Kingdom
Statute of Anne

1721: United Kingdom
Burnet v. Chetwood

1723: France
Code de la Librairie

1725: France
Louis d'Héricourt's memorandum

1725: France
Pierre-Jacques Blondel's memorandum

1735: United Kingdom
Engravers' Copyright Act

1737: United Kingdom
Baller v. Watson: Entry from the Court's Book of Orders

1737: United Kingdom
Booksellers' Bill

1738: Germany
Thurneysen: On the Illicit Reprinting of Books

1740: Germany
Encyclopaedia Article on "The Reprinting of Books"

1741: United Kingdom
Gyles v. Wilcox (Atkyn's Reports)

1741: United Kingdom
Pope v. Curl

1747: United Kingdom
Warburton's Letter from an Author

1749: France
Crébillon case

1759: France
Sieur d'Anville's contract

1761: France
La Fontaine case

1762: France
Royal declaration on privileges granted to inventors

1762: United Kingdom
An Enquiry into Literary Property

1762: United Kingdom
Tonson v. Collins

1763: France
Diderot's Letter on the book trade

1765: Germany
Philipp Erasmus Reich and the Leipzig publishers' cartel

1769: United Kingdom
Millar v. Taylor

1770: France
Luneau de Boisjermain's case

1773: Germany
Saxonian Statute

1773: United Kingdom
Hinton v. Donaldson

1774: Germany
Pütter: The Reprinting of Books

1774: United Kingdom
Donaldson v. Becket

1775: United Kingdom
Stationers' Company v. Carnan

1776: France
Fragments on the Freedom of the Press

1776: France
Gaultier's memorandum for the provincial booksellers

1777: France
French Decree of 30 August 1777, on the duration of privileges

1777: France
Linguet's memorandum

1777: France
Royal declaration on sculpture and painting

1777: United Kingdom
Bach v. Longman

1778: France
Pluquet's letters

1780: France
Dramatic Act

1780: Italy
"Pezzana e Consorti" case: supporting documents

1781: Germany
Austrian Statutes on Censorship and Printing

1781: Italy
"Pezzana e Consorti" case: counter-petition and rulings

1781: USA
Andrew Law's Petition

1783: USA
Connecticut Copyright Statute

1785: Germany
Kant: On the Unlawfulness of Reprinting

1786: France
French Decree on Musical Publications

1787: United Kingdom
Calico Printers' Act

1789: USA
The Constitutional Copyright Clause

1790: France
Sieyès' report

1790: Germany
J.F.F. Ganz's draft for a general ban on reprinting within the whole Empire

1790: USA
Copyright Act

1791: France
Le Chapelier's report

1791: France
Report of François Hell to the National Assembly

1793: France
French Literary and Artistic Property Act

1793: Germany
Fichte: Proof of the Unlawfulness of Reprinting

1794: Germany
Contract between Schiller and Cotta

1794: Germany
Prussian Statute Book (ALR)

1798: United Kingdom
Beckford v. Hood

1798: United Kingdom
Models and Busts Act

1799: Germany
Kehr: Apology of the Reprinting of Books

1801: United Kingdom
Copyright Act

1809: Germany
Baden Civil Code

1814: France
Court of Cassation on compilations

1814: France
Court of Cassation on sculptures

1814: United Kingdom
Copyright Act

1815: Germany
Annotated Publishers' Petition to the Congress of Vienna

1821: Germany
Hegel: Remarks on Intellectual Property

1824: Germany
Neustetel: The Reprinting of Books

1826: France
Minutes of the 1825-1826 Commission

1827: Germany
Kramer: Rights of Writers and Publishers

1827: Germany
Treaties on reciprocal protection between Prussia and various German States

1828: United Kingdom
Maugham's Treatise

1830: Germany
Amended music publishers' agreement against piracy

1831: USA
Copyright Act

1832: Germany
Gans: On the right to perform published stage plays

1833: United Kingdom
Dramatic Literary Property Act

1834: France
Balzac's letter to authors

1834: USA
Wheaton v. Peters

1834: USA
Wheaton v. Peters Independent Report

1835: Germany
Copyright statement of Johann Strauss for Austria and Prussia

1835: United Kingdom
Publication of Lectures Act

1837: Germany
Directive for reciprocal copyright protection within the German Confederation

1837: Germany
Prussian Copyright Act

1837: USA
Senate Report

1838: United Kingdom
International Copyright Act

1840: Germany
Bilateral Treaty between Austria and Sardinia

1841: France
Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property

1841: USA
Folsom v. Marsh

1842: France
Court of Cassation on artistic property

1842: United Kingdom
Copyright Act

1842: United Kingdom
Lowndes' Historical Sketch of the Law of Copyright

1844: Germany
Saxon Copyright Act

1844: United Kingdom
International Copyright Act

1845: France
Court of Appeal on translations

1846: Germany
Austrian Copyright Act

1846: Germany
Bilateral Treaty between Prussia and Britain

1847: United Kingdom
Foreign Reprints Act

1847: USA
A Treatise on the Law of Copyright

1851: France
SACEM's act of constitution

1852: France
French International Copyright Act

1852: United Kingdom
International Copyright Act

1853: Germany
Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights

1853: USA
Stowe v. Thomas

1854: United Kingdom
Jeffreys v. Boosey

1856: USA
Copyright Act Amendment

1857: Germany
Wächter: "Publishing Right"

1861: France
Court of Cassation on telegraphic news

1861: USA
Confederate States of America Copyright Act

1862: France
Court of Cassation on photography

1862: France
Proudhon: "Les Majorats littéraires"

1862: United Kingdom
Fine Art Copyright Act

1865: USA
Copyright Act Amendment

1866: France
Literary and artistic property act

1867: France
Cour de Cassation on moral rights

1867: Germany
Mandry: Commentary on the Bavarian Copyright Act of 1865

1867: Germany
Schäffle: "Authors' rights as an artificial means for safeguarding remuneration and annuities"

1869: France
Court of Cassation on originality

1870: Germany
Copyright Act for the German Empire

1870: United Kingdom
Copinger's Law of Copyright

1870: USA
Copyright Act

1876: Germany
Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs

1877: Germany
Gareis: Juridical Nature of Author's Rights

1878: France
Morillot on the author's right

1878: United Kingdom
Royal Commissioners' Report

1879: USA
Baker v. Selden

1879: USA
Drone on Copyright

1880: Germany
Kohler: Author's Right

1884: Germany
Orelli: "Swiss Copyright Act 1883 with comments and appendices"

1886: United Kingdom
International Copyright Act

1891: USA
International Copyright Act (The Chace Act)

1892: Germany
Bilateral treaty between the German Reich and the U.S.A.

1897: USA
Copyright Act (Public Performance of Musical Compositions)

1902: France
Court of Cassation on moral rights

1903: USA
Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co.

Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, 10 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DZ, UK