Statute of Anne

Common card · No. 478618

The Statute of Anne (8 Ann. c. 21), also known as the Copyright Act 1709 or the Copyright Act 1710, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1710, which was the first statute to provide for copyright regulated by the government and courts, rather than by private parties. Prior to the statute's enactment in 1710, copying restrictions were authorised by the Licensing of the Press Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 33). These restrictions were enforced by the Stationers' Company, a guild of printers given the exclusive power to print—and the responsibility to censor—literary works. The censorship administered under the 1662 act led to public protest; as the act had to be renewed at two-year intervals, authors and others sought to prevent its reauthorisation. Following the expiry of the 1662 act in 1694, Parliament refused to renew the act, ending the Stationers' monopoly and press restrictions. Over the next 10 years the Stationers repeatedly advocated bills to re-authorise the old licensing...

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