Before Copyright: The French Book-Privilege System 1498–1526 (Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History)

by Elizabeth Armstrong

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When printing first began, a new book automatically fell into the public domain upon publication. Only a special law or privilegium enacted by a competent authority could protect it from being reprinted without the consent of the author or publisher. Such privileges for books are attested before 1480, but in Germany and Italy their efficacy was limited to a relatively small area by the political fragmentation of the country. During the 1480s and 1490s France became one of Europe's main centres of book production and, as competition intensified, privileges were sought there from 1498. Although privileges were to last as long as the Ancien Régime, the period to 1526 is the least-known stage of their development and the most important. Most privilege-holders printed the full text of their grant, and many others a summary.
  • ISBN13 9780521374088
  • Publish Date 30 March 1990
  • Publish Status Inactive
  • Out of Print 2 March 2005
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint Cambridge University Press
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 335
  • Language English