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.
| 1509* | Privilege granted to Tommaso Pighinucci for publishing “Medicina Plinii” (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1571* | Privilege granted to Andrea Palladio for his Four Books on Architecture, with supporting endorsement by member of the Roman Inquisition (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1582* | Revocation of Papal privilege to print and distribute Roman [Gregorian] Calendar and Martyrology (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1587* | Privilege to Giovanni Giolito di Ferrari for publication of Paolo Comitolo's "Catena in Beatissimum Job," and revocation of Jean Stratius' privilege in the same work (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1588* | Petition of and Privilege to Tolomeo Veltroni for illustrated edition of the Statutes of the Knights of Malta (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1589* | Petitions from and Privilege granted to Gerard Voss for his Latin translation of the works of St. Ephrem of Syria (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1589* | Bosio's edition of the Statutes of the Knights of Malta (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1593* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Antonio Tempesta for a map of Rome (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1593* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Giulio Burchioni for publishing a combined volume of works on table service and household management (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1598* | Petition of and Privilege to Orazio Torsellini for his History of the House of Loreto (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1599* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Alfonso Chacón for publishing the works of his uncle, historian Alonso Chacón (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1600* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Pietro Fetti to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1602* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Marcantonio Rossi for publishing choral work by the late Giovanni Guidetti of Bologna (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1603* | Privilege granted to Francisco Soto to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1603* | Petition and Privilege for printing and distributing the Summa of St. Raymond of Peñafort (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
| 1604* | Petition from and Privilege granted to Cosimo Gaci to translate, print and distribute works by St. Teresa of Avila from Spanish to Italian (Vatican) Commentary: [1] |
