Pre-18th Century - Publishing and the Common Law in the Monopoly Era
| 1066 |
The Norman Invasion—The Duke of Normandy's invasion of England and victories at the Battle of Hastings  Bayeux Tapestry |
| 1154 |
The Common Law—Henry II institutionalized common law by creating a unified system of law "common" through-out England by incorporating and elevating local custom to the national level, ending local control and peculiarities, eliminating arbitrary remedies, and reinstating a jury system. Henry II developed the practice of sending judges from his own central court to hear the various disputes throughout the country. Initially, these judges would resolve disputes on an ad hoc basis according to what they interpreted the customs to be. In time, the concept of stare decisis (i.e., precedent) developed under which a judge would be bound to follow previous interpretations of the law made by earlier judges. |
| 1292-1534 |
The Year Books—During the period between approximately 1292 and 1534, the reporting of English common law court decisions were chronicled the Year Books.  Year Book See The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. VIII Ch. XIII § 9 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000). |
| 1440 |
Invention of the Printing Press—Although the first printing press was invented in China in 1041 by Bi Sheng, a German metalworker by the name of Johannes Gutenberg  Johannes Gutenberg See Wikipedia, Printing press (March 2005), available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press. |
| 1481 |
John Fortescue—Sir John Fortescue's De Laudibus Legum Angliae  John Fortescue See The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. VIII Ch. XIII § 10 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000). |
| 1511-1527 |
Rastell & the Humanists—English scholar John Rastell (1475-1536) pioneers the humanist argument that the printed publication of the law would educate citizens and encourage them "to orient their character toward peaceful living and tranquility."  Exposiciones Terminorum Legum Anglorum See Richard J. Ross, The Commoning of the Common Law: The Renaissance Debate Over Printing English Law, 1520-1640, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 323 (1998). |
| 1530 |
Non-Professional Audiences—English publication of Rastellian Christopher St. German's second dialogue Doctor and Student (1530), a dialogue between a doctor of the civil and canon law and a student of the common law, was published in common English, rather than Latin or law French as a means to increase its appeal to a broader non-professional audience and to "incite others to collect and put into writing additional cases in English law." After 1550 there was a relative increase in legal literature targeted to the non-professional audience. See Richard J. Ross, The Commoning of the Common Law: The Renaissance Debate Over Printing English Law, 1520-1640, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 323 (1998); see also The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. VIII Ch. XIII § 12 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000). |
| 1556 |
The Stationer's Company—In an attempt by the English crown to control and censor printed works, authors were no longer allowed to print and market their own works.  Stationers' Hall See (Drone); Arlene Bielefield & Lawrence Cheeseman, Libraries & Copyright Law 24-25 (Neal Schuman Publishers 1993). |
| 1553-1651 |
Publishing Monopolies (UK)—From 1553 through the English Civil War, a royally appointed "law patentee" held the monopoly privilege of publishing common law books, with the Queen's or King's printer enjoying the right to print statutes and proclamations. The Crown enforced a system of pre-publication licensing, reserving to the Privy Council, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of London the power of approving most works for the press, while the justices passed on common law books. See Richard J. Ross, The Commoning of the Common Law: The Renaissance Debate Over Printing English Law, 1520-1640, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 323 (1998). |
| 1571 |
First Law Reports (UK)—As successors to the Year Books, major law reports begin appearing, in French, namely, Plowden (1571), Dyer (1585) and Coke (1600). See The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. VIII Ch. XIII §§ 12, 13 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000). |
| 1638 |
First North American Printing Press—The first printing press brought to North America from England to Massachusetts, known as the Cambridge Press, was set up in 1638 by Elizabeth Glover, the widow of the Rev. Joseph Glover. The act earned her the title, "Mother of the American Press." See Daniel R. MacGilvray, Success to Printing, New Typeline, vol. 2, Jan. 1986, at 6. |
| 1641-1649 |
Increased Legal Education Argued—During increased Elizabethan criticism of the legal profession, the widespread printing of legal texts is argued to increase legal education among lawyers and as a defense to the charge of ignorance within the profession. See Richard J. Ross, The Commoning of the Common Law: The Renaissance Debate Over Printing English Law, 1520-1640, 146 U. Pa. L. Rev. 323 (1998). |
| 1643 |
Licensing Act—copy p. 25 + Deposits issue. |
| 1650 |
Legal Reforms (UK)—Due to problems with the delays, costs, and complications of legal procedures, a committee was appointed to recommend reforms to the English legal system. Although significant disagreements prevented substantive changes to English law, the parliment passed a bill ending the legal profession's use of specialized Latin and French languages. Prior to this time, Latin had remained the language of the records, and French the language of pleadings in court. Over time, the legal profession's use of these languages resulted in a corrupt form of the original dialects that was heavily laden with specialized jargon. The shift to English usage lead to a series of translations of previously published legal works. Despite these changes, however, ten years later the English Restoration brought on a revival in the use of these specialized languages. See The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. VIII Ch. XIII §§ 15, 20 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000); see also Blacks Law Dictionary, 1029-1030 (4th DeLuxe ed. 1951). |
| 1666 |
Atkins—On appeal to the House of Lords, Atkins claimed the right as the King's patentee to print all law books. He successfully obtained an injunction restricting the members of the Stationer's Company from printing Rolle's Abridgment. |
| 1672 |
Roper v. Streater—Roper, who had bought from the executors of Mr. Justice Croke the third part of his reports, brought an action against Streater for printing it without authority. Streater was a law patentee, and argued the King's grant. The Common Pleas decided in favor of the plainitff, on the ground that he , "by purchase from the executors of the author, was owner of the copyat common law." This judgment was reversed in the House of Lords, where it was held that "the copy belonged to the King." |
The 18th Century - The Rise of Copyright and the Birth of the Public Domain
| 1709 |
Statute of Anne Passed (UK)—The British Parliament  Statute of Anne See Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture 85 (Penguin Press 2004). |
| 1769 |
Millar v. Taylor (UK): Common Law Rights—In a challenge to the limited term enacted under the Statute of Anne, a London publisher asserted a common-law copyright that continued after the expiration of the statute's limited term. An English court sided with the publisher, finding that common law rights were not extinguished by the Statute of Anne. Under the judge's ruling, the publishers had a perpetual common law right to publish a work for which they aquired the rights. Thus, no amount of time would cause the work to pass to the public. See Millar v. Taylor, 4 Burr. 2303, 98 Eng. Rep. 201 (K.B. 1769). |
| 1774 |
Donaldson v. Beckett (UK): The Public Domain—The British House of Lords decides Donaldson v. Beckett, holding that following the limited time outlined in the Statute of Anne, copyrighted works pass to the public domain. The decision rejected the argument by the major London publishers that a perpetual common law copyright existed, regardless of the legislative enactment of the Statute of Anne. See Donaldson v. Beckett, 17 Parl. Hist. Eng. 953 (H.L. 1774). |
| 1783 |
Articles of Confederation (US)—In response to the petitions of several authors, the U.S. Continental Congress (which had no copyright authority under the Articles of Confederation) passed a resolution encouraging the states to pass copyright laws. Within three years, all of the U.S. states, except Delaware, had enacted copyright laws. Many of these laws were modeled on England's Statute of Anne (providing two fourteen-year terms). |
| 1787 |
New Constitution (US)—In 1787, the United States of America formed a new Constitution. Notably, it included a specific provision relating to intellectual property under Article I, Section 8, Clause 8.  The U.S. Constitution  James Wilson See U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8. (progress clause); U.S. Const. art. I, § 5, cl. 3. (publishing clause); Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 1-2 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
| 1789 |
First Law Reports (US)—A commercial response filled the void left by the government's inaction toward the publishing of judicial proceedings. The first private law reports in the United States began to appear in 1789, with Kirby's Connecticut Reports, and the first book of American legal practice was published as early as 1802. During the nineteenth century, more than 200 separate case reporters appeared, most covering a single court. The variations among the reporters was unsystematic, sometimes presented varying texts of the same decision. See The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Vol. XVII Ch. XXIII § 28 (New York: Putnam 1907-21; Bartleby.com 2000); Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
Publishing of Congressional Proceedings Addressed (US)—In 1789, the first mention of public printing occurs in the new Congress with a House recommendation invites proposals for "printing the laws and other proceedings." See Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
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| 1790 |
Copyright Act of 1790—The First U.S. Congress passes the Copyright Act of 1790, entitled An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the Authors and Proprietors of Such Copies, was modeled on England's  Copyright Act of 1790 |
First Supreme Court Reporter (US)—In 1790, a noted Pennsylvania attorney, Alexander J. Dallas (1759-1817), started a private venture to publish the decisions of the Supreme Court.  Alexander Dallas See Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
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| 1793-1800 |
First Private Congressional Publishers (US)—Between 1793 and 1800, the U.S. House and Senate each hired their own private printers to handle the task of printing the their respective proceedings (Francis Childs & John Swaine for the House, John Fenno for the Senate). A 1794 Congressional appropriation for public printing allocated $10,000 for the two houses of Congress, over $2,000 to the Secretary of State, $4000 to the Treasury Department, and $800 to the War Department. See Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
The 19th Century - The Growth of Public Access
| 1800-1802 |
Capital Moves to Washington D.C. (US)—In 1800, the United States Capital was moved from its temporary home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the new capital at Washington D.C.  William Cranch See Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
U.S. Library of Congress—As the Capital is moved, the Library of Congress is created to provide resources to the legislative branch of the federal government. By 1802, President Thomas Jefferson approved the first law defining the role and functions of the new Library of Congress. Law books made up nearly 20 percent of the initial collection, consisting mostly of texts on English and International law. It houses one of the most complete collections of U.S. Congressional documents in their original format. (jeffer legacy). |
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| 1813 |
Federal Depository Library Program—The United States federal depository library program was established to provide the citizens of the country with free public access to government information. The federal government began sending printed government materials to libraries free of charge. In return, 1,350 participating libraries housed, took care of, and allowed free access to the resources. |
| 1817 |
Court Reporter Post Created (US)—In March of 1817, the U.S. Congress authorized the Court to appoint and compensate an official reporter to handle the publication of its decisions. This employee could secure the services of a private contract printer to produce each compilation, but a statutorily specified number of copies was to be supplied. This so-called nominative reporter system was discontinued with the decisions of the 1874 term. The position of reporter, under the nominative system, was held by various individuals, including Henry Wheaton (rptr. 1817-1827), Richard Peters Jr. (rptr. 1828-1843), Benjamin Chew Howard (rptr. 1843-1861), Jeremiah Sullivan Black (rptr. 1861-1863), and John William Wallace (rptr. 1864-1875). See Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
| 1819 |
National Printing Office Recommended (US)—A Congressional committee, which was formed to consider whether any additional laws were necessary concerning the printing of Congressional publications, issued a report authored by Sen. James Jefferson Wilson (1775-1824) and Rep. Thomas J. Rogers (1781-1832), asking Congress to consider "the establishment of a national printing office," rather than hiring private printers. Notably, both Congressmen had experience in the publishing industry. Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
| 1831 |
Copyright Act of 1831—The U.S. Congress passes the Copyright Act of 1831, which extended the term of copyright and expressed the view that copyright was a natural right of the author founded in the labor used to create a work, a view that ran counter to the English tradition on which the U.S. law had been modeled. |
| 1832 |
Law Library of Congress—Although books on the law formed a major part of the holdings of the Library of Congress from its beginning, In 1832, Congress established the Law Library of Congress as a separate department of the Library. Although the Library received copies of all federal laws and Supreme Court decisions, obtaining state laws and decisions of state courts remained a problem for decades. |
| 1833 |
Public Library—The first tax supported public library in the U.S. is founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire, in 1833. See Barbara Krasner-Khait, Survivor: The History of the Library, History Magazine, Oct./Nov. 2001. |
| 1834 |
Wheaton v. Peters (US): Natural Right—In Wheaton v. Peters, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the utilitarian view of copyright, noting that in England, it had always been the case that inventors did not have a natural right in their inventions. The case involved a copyright in decisions of the Supreme Court's own decisions. In 1827, Richard Peters Jr. had succeeded Henry Wheaton as the reporter of decisions for the U.S. Supreme Court. When he took the post, he condensed the reports of his three predecessors, eliminating the arguments of counsel, annotations, and other material, thus reducing twenty-four volumes into six, titled as "Condensed Reports." Wheaton sued Peters, who countered that Wheaton had not obtained a copyright and that, since no common-law right existed, Wheaton had no claim. Based on England's decision in Donaldson v. Beckett, the court concluded that there was no perpetual, natural, or common-law right to copyright and that Congress created the right through its passage of the Copyright Act. Wheaton v. Peters, 29 F.Cas 862 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1832); 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591 (1834). |
| 1840 |
National Printing Office Recommended (US)—In 1840, the House of Representatives appointed a Select Committee on Public Printing and asked it to report on the possibility of separating Government printing from newspaper publishers, and the practicality of a national printing office. Although the committee's report resulted in a House bill calling for the creation of a national printing office, the bill failed to pass. Instead, the Congress instituted a system of printing based on the lowest bidder. Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
| 1841 |
Folsom v. Marsh (US): Fair Use—In the case of Folsom v. Marsh, a publisher of a multi-volume collection of George Washington's letters sued another publisher for his use of hundreds of pages of the letters. Although the copier lost the case the opinion attempted to explain when copying would be justified. Those justifications would go on to form the basis of the doctrine of Fair Use. Folsom v. Marsh (1841). |
| 1846 |
Copyright Deposits—In 1846, the practice of depositing items registered for copyright protection was enacted. The privilege of collecting these deposited items went to the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Library of Congress. See John Y. Cole, Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress. |
| 1852 |
Superintendent of Public Printing—Rising printing costs prompted Congress to create the office of Superintendent of Public Printing in 1852. While the practice of hiring private printing firms for the House and Senate continued, oversight of the printers was given to the Superintendent. The fist Superintendent was John T. Towers, a practicing printer who had learned his trade from a former printer for the Senate. in the office was subsequently held by A.G. Seaman (super. 1853-1857), Gen. George W. Bowman (super. 1857-1859), and John Heart (super. 1859-1861). Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
| 1860 |
Creation of the Government Printing Office—After two previously failed proposals and vigorous debate, the Congress passed legislation to create a national printing office, titled the Government Printing Office (GPO)  Government Printing Office Daniel R. MacGilvray, Long Time Coming, GPO, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
| 1863 |
Council of Law Reporting (UK)—In 1863, W.T.S. Daniel Q.C. proposed a Council of Law Reporting to undertake the management and direction of the printing and sale of the law reports to counteract the problems caused by inaccurate reporting, multiple sources, publication delays, and high prices of existing reports. Daniel's scheme was approved in substance and the first meeting of the Council was held in February of 1865. While The Law Reports were to be run as a private enterprise without state aid or interference it was not intended to be profit making except in so far as it was necessary to make it self-supporting. In 1970 the Council was registered as a Charity and is currently known as The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England & Wales (ICLR). See The History of The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England & Wales, http://www.lawreports.co.uk/ (as of Feb. 2005). |
| 1870 |
Copyright Act of 1870—While the term was not extended in this revision of the Copyright Act, the authority to register copyrights was shifted from individual district courts to the Library of Congress's Copyright Office. |
| 1873 |
GPO Begins Printing Congressional Record—In 1873, the Government Printing Office (GPO) began the task of publishing congressional debates from the Congressional Globe. The Globe was a newspaper, owned by two Kentucky natives Francis P. Blair and John C. Rives, that under contract from the Congress began printing congressional debates in 1831. After evaluating bids from the Globe and others in 1871, Congress shifted the duty to the GPO. The GPO's publication was given the name Congressional Record. Daniel R. MacGilvray, Era of Reconstruction, New Typeline, vol. 2, Feb.-Mar. 1986, at pp. 6-7. |
Shapard's Company—Shapard's Company founded. |
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| 1880 |
West Begins Federal Reporter—In 1880, West Publishing Co. began to publish the Federal Reporter series, which systematically reproduced the written decisions rendered by judges of the federal trial and lower appellate courts. Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
| 1881-1919 |
Public Libraries—Between 1881 and 1919, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie helps build more than 1,700 public libraries in the United States. history mag. |
| 1886 |
The Berne Convention—The Berne Convention was an international agreement (formed mostly among European nations) designed to provide a basis for mutual recognition of copyright between sovereign nations and to promote the development of international norms in copyright protection. |
| 1887 |
Matthew Bender—Matthew Bender founded. |
| 1888 |
Callahan v. Myers—The court in Callahan v. Myers, stated that "such work of the reporter, which may be the lawful subject of copyright, comprehends...the order of arrangement of the cases, the division of the reports into volumes, the numbering and paging of the volumes...." Callahan v. Myers, 128 U.S. 617., 649, 9 S. Ct. 177, 185, 32 L. Ed. 547 (1888) |
| 1894 |
xxx—Fed. Cases (Hernon p. 5) + p 251. |
| 1895 |
Printing Act—Hernon p.3 + p.7. |
| 1898 |
Howell v. Miller—Howell v. Myers. Howell v. Miller, 91 F. 129 (6th Cir. 1898). |
| 1909 |
Copyright Act of 1909—major revision of the copyright act. |
Banks Law Publ'g Co. v. Lawyer's Co-Operative Publ'g Co.— Banks Law Publishing Co. v. Lawyer's Co-Operative Publishing Co., 169 Fed. 386 (2d cir. 1909) (per curiam), appeal dismissed, 223 U.S. 73, 32 S. Ct. 530, L. Ed. 636 (1911). |
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| 1922 |
Supreme Court Publishing Moved to GPO—In 1922, the Supreme Court Reporter was unburdened with the actual printing and publication of the court's decisions in the United States Reports. The Government Printing Office (GPO) was given the responsibility of producing the court's reports. Peter Hernon, Harold C. Relyea, Robert E. Dugan, & Joan F Cheverie, United States Government Information: Policies and Sources 5 (Libraries Unlimited 2002). |
| 1932 |
Federal Supplement—F.Supp. (Hernon p.5). |
The Post-War Period - The Digital Revolution
| 1945 |
The Memex—Dr. Vannevar Bush's  Vannevar Bush See Vannevar Bush, As We May Think, The Atlantic Monthly, July 1945 (available at www.theatlantic.com). |
| 1962 |
Global Computer Network Proposed—The earliest ideas of a global computer network were formulated by Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (1915-1990) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in August of 1962 in a series of memos discussing the concept of a "Galactic Network." These ideas contained most of the features of the modern Internet. In October 1962 Licklider was appointed head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) information processing office. |
| 1969 |
ARPANet Created—The precusor to the Internet, ARPANet, goes live for the first time in October 1969. The ARPANet was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defence's Advanced Research Projects Agency as a research project looking into computer networking. |
| 1973 |
Lexis—The first electronic, full-text legal information service, Lexis, is introduced. The electronic system improved upon traditional research by increasing the speed with which researchers could discover relevant documents. The Lexis service also implemented a full-text Key Word in Context (KWIC) approach, allowing users to formulate custom search queries and not be bound by pre-existing index headings. The company began as the Data Corporation, which was bought by The Mead Corporation in 1968 and later bought by Dutch-British publishing giant Reed Elsevier in 1994. |
| 1974 |
Freedom of Information Act of 1974—In response to the Watergate scandal, the Freedom of Information Act of 1974 was created to force government entities to disclose public records and documents to the public, items that were not part of the previous depository library program. This act was followed by the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which provided open access to a president's records after twelve years. |
| 1976 |
Copyright Act of 1976—The Copyright Act of 1976 -- included sect. 105 (barring copyright in gov works). |
| 1978 |
Presidental Records Act of 1978—The Presidential Records Act of 1978 provided open access to a president's records after twelve years. |
| 1981 |
Schnapper v. Foley—Schnapper v. Foley (on gov works). See Schnapper v. Foley (1981). |
| 1987 |
xxx—Hernon p.14 n.15. |
| 1988 |
Berne Convention Joined (US)—In 1988, the United States became a signatory to the Berne Convention. |
| 1992 |
Legal Information Institute—Cornell University's Law School  |
| 1994 |
Reed Elsevier Buys Lexis—Dutch-British publishing giant Reed Elsevier purchases Mead Data Central, the owner of the Lexis service, in 1994 and renames the company LexisNexis. LexisNexis, Media Kit: Company History (March 2005), available at http://www.lexisnexis.com/presscenter/mediakit/history.asp. |
| 1995 |
End of Commercial Internet Restrictions—Although some companies, such as Delphia, began internet-related commercial ventures as early as 1992, restrictions on commercial use of the internet were not fully removed until 1995 when the National Science Foundation ended its sponsorship of the Internet backbone. |
| 1996 |
Electronic Freedom of Information Improvement Act—xxx |
| 1997 |
Lexis Service Moves to the Web—In September 1997, LexisNexis moved its information products and services to a web-based model, eliminating the need for manually installed research software. The service became the first web-based service for U.S. legal professionals. LexisNexis, Media Kit: Company History (March 2005), available at http://www.lexisnexis.com/presscenter/mediakit/history.asp. |
| 1998 |
Sonny Bono Act—xxxxxx. |
DMCA—xxxxxx. |
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| 1999 |
Bender v. West Publishing Co.—p.8 Copyright Timeline. |
| 2005 |
OpenGavel Formed—OpenGavel is formed to provide a non-profit alternative to the tradition of depending on commercial services to distribute U.S. court decisions. |
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