Privilegia pro autory předbělohorského období ve fondu "Impressoria" v Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchivu ve Vídni

Printing privileges, granted primarily by rulers, constituted an important instrument in the fight against unauthorised reprints and a means of copyright protection from the early days of printing. For printers and authors from the Bohemian lands, applications for privileges and their drafts have been preserved in archival collections. Privileges from the collection of the State Central Archive (now the National Archive) were processed by Karel Beránek in 1977; privileges from Vienna’s Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv are examined in this contribution. The collection contains privileges for authors, editors, and translators, but not for printers. Based on Bohemia- related material, listed in the appendix, the study discusses the form of petitions and privileges, their content, and practical matters connected with applying for and obtaining a privilege. Attention is also given to the relationship between author and printer and the role of religious confession in the privilege application process. The conclusion outlines possible directions for further research.