Lionel Bently, the Herschel Smith Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law at the University of Cambridge, and a member of IP Osgoode’s International Advisory Council, has co-edited a collection of 15 essays on the history of copyright law, entitled Privilege and Property: Essays on the History of Copyright.
This comprehensive collection explores the concept of copyright from a historical approach, against the backdrop of culture and economics. Featuring essays from a wide range of world-renowned copyright scholars, the book encompasses the various locations and times in which copyright began to surface as an economic concern, from Renaissance Italy to the North American colonies to revolutionary France. The illustrated 450-page edition paints a vibrant picture of copyright’s evolution.
The volume is a companion to Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), a digital archive funded by UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).