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

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. 1 Origins And Development Of Book-privileges In Europe -- 2 Privilege-granting Authorities In France: Part I. Royal -- Part Ii Academic And Ecclesiastical -- 3 Seeking And Granting Privileges : Forms, Conditions And Procedures -- 4 Grounds For Seeking And Granting Privileges -- 5 Grant Of Privilege And Permission To Print -- 6 Dating And Duration Of Privileges -- 7 Display And Advertisement Of Privileges -- 8 The Range Of Interests Reflected In Privileged Books : Analysis By Subject -- 9 Ownership, Enforcement And Efficacy Of Privileges -- Conclusion -- Register Of Known Privileges, With Code-numbers. Elizabeth Armstrong. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 296-299) And Indexes. THE CONCEPT OF COPYRIGHT was unknown in the manuscript era, and was slow to develop even when printing with movable type had revolutionised the rate at which copies of a book could be produced.