The
printing patent or
printing privilege was a precursor of modern
copyright. It was an exclusive right to print a work or a class of works.
History
Origins
The earliest recorded printing privilege dates from 1469, giving John of Speyer a five-year
monopoly on all printing in Venice. In 1495, the Republic granted another monopoly on all Greek works to
Aldus Manutius as a reward for his investments in a
Greek alphabet typeface for
Aldine Press.
[Jackson, M. (2002) From Private to Public: Reexamining the Technological Basis for Copyright, Journal of Communication, 52, 416-433]
Printing privileges in France
In
France, the royal
Code de la librairie of 1723 codified existing practice. It stated that there was no property in ideas or texts. Ideas, it was argued, were a gift from
God, revealed through the writer. God's first representative, the French king had the exclusive right to determine what could be printed by whom. Only members of the royal guild of publishers could apply for a "printing privilege", a permission and an exclusive right to print a work. Authors wishing to see their manuscript printed had no choice but to sell it to guild members. Most printing privileges were owned by the guild and automatically renewed over generations. In 1789, the National Assembly created by the French Revolution brought an end to all royal privileges.
[Hesse, C. (1990) Enlightenment Epistemology and the Laws of Authorship in Revolutionary France, 1777-1793 Representations, 109-137]
Royal prerogative in England
English monarchs granted printing patents based on the royal prerogative, with patents falling into one of two categories:
particular patents gave an exclusive right to print a single work – often popular, classic works written centuries earlier – for a limited time, usually seven or ten years.
General patents were usually granted for life and covered a class of works, such as law books or
. Printing patents were independent of the private copyright system established by the Stationers' Company, even though most printing patents were granted to members of the Company. The importance of printing privileges decreased over time, but they still existed after the Statute of Anne was enacted.
[Patterson, L. R. (1968) Copyright in Historical Perspective, Vanderbilt University Press] The royal prerogative relating to printing patents was not removed until 1775.
[Donner, I. (1992) The Copyright Clause of the U. S. Constitution: Why Did the Framers Include It with Unanimous Approval? The American Journal of Legal History 36(3), 361-378]
See also
-
John Day (printer), a printer who obtained several royal printing patents
-
Privileged presses
-
Letters patent
