Project Summary

Information norms (and in particular the laws of intellectual property) are constitutive of modern societies. An understanding of the sources of these norms is critical to understanding the scope and direction of current laws. The key historical materials on copyright derive from Italy (Venice), France, the UK, Germany and the United States. The project will create a free electronic archive of primary sources from the invention of the printing press (ca1450) to the Berne Convention (1886): in facsimile and transcription, translated and key word searchable. The documents will include statutes, materials relating to legislative history, case law, tracts, and commentaries. Editorial headnotes will provide context.

Within the resource constraints of a total budget of £292,000 the target is to identify, source, translate and comment only the most significant documents: Italy/Venice: 20 documents; France: 50 documents; Germany: 50 documents; UK: 50 documents; US: 20 documents. Five national editors will be responsible for the selection and editorial work in their jurisdictions. On average, the national editors will have less than a week to spend per document. The database will be designed to be expandable in the future.

An international conference in the spring of 2008 will mark the conclusion of the project. It is also anticipated that a one volume Copyright Reader, comprising document excerpts and more comprehensive editorial introductions, will be placed with a major academic publisher (eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer).