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.
1737* | Baller v. Watson: Entry from the Court's Book of Orders (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1830 | Dramatic Writings Bill (United Kingdom) |
1832 | Select Committee Report: Dramatic Literature (United Kingdom) |
1833* | Dramatic Literary Property Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1838 | Copyright Bill (27 Feb.) (United Kingdom) |
1838 | Copyright Bill (6 June) (United Kingdom) |
1839 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1840 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1841 | Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1841 | S. 227 (Dramatic Works Public Performance Bill) (United States) |
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 | H.R. 9 (Ingersoll Bill) (United States) |
1847* | A Treatise on the Law of Copyright (United States) Commentary: [1] |
1851* | SACEM's act of constitution (France) |
1853* | Bluntschli: On Authors' Rights (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1857* | Anglo-Spanish Copyright Treaty (Spain) Commentary: [1] |
1870* | Copyright Act for the German Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1877* | Supreme Court on Music Copyright (Spain) |
1878 | Royal Commission on Copyright: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |
1879* | Drone on Copyright (United States) |
1885* | First Inscriptions of Works at the Spanish Copyright Office (Spain) |
1885 | Carte v. Duff (United States) |
1886 | Correspondence respecting the Copyright Union (United Kingdom) |
1891 | 50 Prussian Expert Opinions from 1870-1876 (Germany) |
1894 | Report on H.R. 6835 (United States) |
1896 | Public Performance Bill (United States) |
1896 | Report on H.R. 1978 (United States) |
1896 | Hearing on H.R. 5976 (United States) |