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.
1531* | Basel Printers' Statute (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1618* | Book trade regulations and incorporation of the Parisian book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
1653 | An Act for reviving [the 1649 Act] (United Kingdom) |
1686* | Book trade regulations (France) |
1690 | Beier: On the Book Trade and its Privileges (Germany) |
1713* | 'Books Constitution' of Emperor Rudolf II (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1725-1726* | Pierre-Jacques Blondel's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
1763* | Diderot's Letter on the book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
1776* | Gaultier's memorandum for the provincial booksellers (France) Commentary: [1] |
1785* | Austrian Statutes on Censorship and Printing (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1790* | J.F.F. Ganz's draft for a general ban on reprinting within the whole Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1801* | Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1834* | Balzac's letter to authors (France) |
1838 | Report, from the Committee on Patents (United States) |
1838 | Memorial of the New York Typographical Society (United States) |
1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
1846* | Bilateral Treaty between Prussia and Britain (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1852* | International Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1872 | Correspondence and Papers on Colonial Copyright (United Kingdom) |
1874 | Correspondence respecting Colonial Copyright (United Kingdom) |
1884 | Bilateral treaty between Switzerland and France (Germany) |
1896 | Hearing on H.R. 5976 (United States) |
1898* | Treaty of Peace between the United States and Spain (Spain) Commentary: [1] |