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.
1501* | Imperial Senate privilege to the Sodalitas Celtica (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1513* | Imperial privilege for Eucharius Rösslin (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1516 | Imperial Privilege for Johannes Eck (Germany) |
1517 | Privilege of the Duke of Bavaria (Germany) |
1539 | Appointment of Academic Printer at the University of Copenhagen (Scandinavia) |
1586* | Simon Marion's plea on privileges (France) Commentary: [1] |
1618* | Book trade regulations and incorporation of the Parisian book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
1686* | Book trade regulations (France) |
1690 | Beier: On the Book Trade and its Privileges (Germany) |
1713 | Augsburg Printers' Ordinance (Germany) |
1724* | Electoral Saxon Printing and Censorship Acts from 1549 to 1717 (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1725-1726* | Pierre-Jacques Blondel's memorandum (France) Commentary: [1] |
1763* | Diderot's Letter on the book trade (France) Commentary: [1] |
1766* | The Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance (Scandinavia) Commentary: [1] |
1778* | Pluquet's letters (France) Commentary: [1] |
1785* | Austrian Statutes on Censorship and Printing (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1813 | Petition of the Printers of London and Westminster (United Kingdom) |
1814* | Copyright Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1814 | Parliamentary Debates on the Copyright Act (10 May) (United Kingdom) |
1814 | Parliamentary Debates on the Copyright Act (18 July) (United Kingdom) |
1815* | Annotated Publishers' Petition to the Congress of Vienna (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1818 | Select Committee Report: Minutes of Evidence (United Kingdom) |
1821* | Hegel: Remarks on Intellectual Property (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1828* | Maugham's Treatise (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1835* | Publication of Lectures Act (United Kingdom) Commentary: [1] |
1837* | Prussian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1842 | Memorial of a Number of Persons Concerned in Printing and Publishing (United States) |
1846 | Expert Opinion on Schelling v. Paulus (Germany) |
1846* | Austrian Copyright Act (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1853 | Letters on International copyright (United States) |
1868* | Proudhon: 'Les Majorats littéraires' (France) |
1870* | Copyright Act for the German Empire (Germany) Commentary: [1] |
1890 | Report on H.R. 10881 (United States) |