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.
1793* | French Literary and Artistic Property Act (France) Commentary: [1] |
1814* | Court of Cassation on sculptures (France) Commentary: [1] |
1826* | Minutes of the 1825-1826 Commission (France) |
1837* | Directive for reciprocal copyright protection within the German Confederation (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1840* | Bilateral Treaty between Austria and Sardinia (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1841* | Report of Lamartine and parliamentary debates on literary property (France) |
1841 | Court of Cassation on artistic property (France) |
1842* | Court of Cassation on artistic property (France) Commentary: [1] |
1844* | Saxon Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1846* | Bilateral Treaty between Prussia and Britain (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1846* | Austrian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1851 | Anglo-French Copyright Treaty (United Kingdom) |
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) |
1857* | Wächter: 'Publishing Right' (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1858 | Report of the Artistic Copyright Committee (United Kingdom) |
1861 | Fine Art Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1861 | Parliamentary Debates on the Fine Art Copyright Bill (6 May) (United Kingdom) |
1862* | Fine Art Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1862 | Parliamentary Debates on the Fine Art Copyright Act (28 Feb.) (United Kingdom) |
1862 | Parliamentary Debates on the Fine Art Copyright Act (20 March) (United Kingdom) |
1862 | Parliamentary Debates on the Fine Art Copyright Act (31 March) (United Kingdom) |
1862 | Fine Art Copyright Bill (27 Feb.) (United Kingdom) |
1862 | Fine Art Copyright Bill (20 March) (United Kingdom) |
1866* | Literary and artistic property act (France) |
1868* | Proudhon: 'Les Majorats littéraires' (France) |
1870* | Copinger's Law of Copyright (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1870* | Copyright Act (United States) |
1876* | Copyright Acts for the German Empire regarding works of art, photography, and designs (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1876 | Act on the Protection of Written Property, Norway (Scandinavia) |
1878* | Morillot on the author's right (France) |
1878* | Royal Commissioners' Report (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1878 | Royal Commission on Copyright: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |
1879 | Copyright Consolidation Bill (United Kingdom) |
1884 | Bilateral treaty between Switzerland and France (Germany) |
1886* | International Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1886 | International Copyright Bill (United Kingdom) |
1886 | Correspondence respecting the Copyright Union (United Kingdom) |
1892* | Bilateral treaty between the German Reich and the U.S.A. (Germany) Commentary: [1] |