00A SHORT HISTORY OF BOOK RIGHTS

Whose book is it,
and for how long?

Rows of old leather-bound books on wooden shelves in a quiet panelled library, lit by soft light from a tall window — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

A book's protection has always had a clock on it.

Printers once guarded titles through a London guild's register. Parliament set the first time limit in 1710, and the clock has been wound longer ever since. Here is how it grew, and what it means for reusing an old text today.

14 → 70years of protectionUpdated 16 October 2026

Check a book

01Principles

Registered by a guild
Limited by Parliament
Free after the term
Three centuries of the book clock

02THE SHORT ANSWER

Rights in a book
were made to run out.

From a guild's register to an Act of Parliament,
each step set how long a text stays owned.

1557 · THE REGISTER

A guild keeps the list

A royal charter of 1557 gave the Stationers' Company control of printing, the right to seize pirated works and to register new titles. That register laid the foundations of copyright.

Where it began

1710 · THE STATUTE OF ANNE

Fourteen years, then free

The first copyright Act gave registered books 14 years' protection, and 14 more if the author was still alive, ending the idea that rights in a book last forever.

See the numbers

TODAY · LIFE PLUS 70

Old text, new edition

A written work is now protected until 70 years after the author's death. A publisher's page layout has its own right for 25 years from first publication.

Check a book

03A QUICK BOOK CHECK

Is this text
still protected?

Pick a kind of book to see what the UK Intellectual Property Office's notice says about how long its protection lasts. The bar shows how much of it is still likely to be protected.

Based on the UK Intellectual Property Office copyright notice on duration of copyright. General information, not legal advice: only a court can give a conclusive view.

Book check

Choose a bookA novel by an author who died over 70 years agoA new edition with fresh notes and picturesA new translation of an old classicWriting unpublished at the end of 1988, author died before 1969A living author's latest novel

A novel by an author who died over 70 years agoText out of copyright

Written works are protected until 70 years after the author's death. Once copyright has expired, anyone can use or copy the work.

A new edition with fresh notes and picturesNew parts protected

New illustrations and commentary attract their own copyright, but the unchanged old text is not brought back into copyright. The new layout is protected for 25 years.

A new translation of an old classicTranslation may be protected

The IPO says a translation may attract copyright of its own, although the underlying work is not brought back into copyright.

Writing unpublished at the end of 1988, author died before 1969Until 31 Dec 2039

Under the '2039 rule', literary works unpublished at the end of 1988 whose author died before 1969 stay protected until 31 December 2039.

A living author's latest novelLife plus 70 years

Protection runs from creation until 70 years after the author's death, so recent works may be protected until the next century.

Source: Intellectual Property Office, Copyright notice: duration of copyright (term), and GOV.UK, How long copyright lasts.

04TWO NUMBERS, THREE CENTURIES APART

The clock has
been wound longer.

The first statutory term for a new book,
and the general term for a written work today.

14 years

First term for a new book

Plus a further 14 years if the author was still alive at the end of the first term. Books already in print got a single 21-year term.

1710 · STATUTE OF ANNE

70 years

Written works, after the author's death

The Berne Convention minimum is the author's life plus 50 years; the UK, like the EU, US, Japan and Australia, gives longer, generally around 70 years after death.

TODAY · UK IPO

In between, the Copyright Law Amendment Act 1842 gave authors their first protection after death: life plus seven years, or 42 years from first publication, whichever was longer.

05BEFORE YOU REPRINT AN OLD BOOK

Four questions
to ask first.

Reprinting, quoting or adapting an old text? These are the points the IPO's notice works through. It is general guidance, not a substitute for legal advice.

When did the author die?
For most written works the date of death is what matters: protection lasts until 70 years after it, whatever the book's fame.
Was it published before 1989?
Writing still unpublished at the end of 1988 by an author who died before 1969 is protected until 31 December 2039.
Which edition are you using?
New notes, illustrations and translations carry their own rights, and a recent edition's typographical arrangement is protected for 25 years from first publication.
Still unsure? Ask
The IPO's copyright enquiries service gives general advice on current UK copyright law, though it cannot give legal advice on a specific case.

A stack of new plain-covered paperback books on a wooden table beside a well-worn antique copy of the same book — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

06WHERE IT BEGAN

A guild, a register
and a library.

A wooden hand printing press of the 1700s in a museum workshop, with ink balls and a tray of metal type beside it — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

In 1403 the City of London approved a Guild of Stationers for the book trades: copyists, decorators, binders and sellers of writing materials. After Caxton brought printing to England in 1476, Mary I and Philip II gave the Company a royal charter in 1557 to control printing and register new titles.

On 12 December 1610 the Stationers agreed to send 'one perfect Booke' of every registered title to Sir Thomas Bodley's new library in Oxford. That agreement eventually gave rise to legal deposit, under which a copy of every UK and Irish publication goes to designated libraries.

07Questions

Questions people ask

What was the Statute of Anne?

Passed in 1710, it was the first English copyright statute, 'An Act for the Encouragement of Learning'. It gave books registered with the Stationers' Company 14 years' protection, with 14 more if the author was still alive.

Did copyright ever last forever?

The Statute of Anne set time limits, but the courts went on debating a common law right beyond them. In Donaldson v Becket (1774), the House of Lords' first decision on copyright, the statute's limited terms prevailed.

When did protection start to last beyond the author's death?

With the Copyright Law Amendment Act 1842: the author's life plus seven years, or 42 years from first publication, whichever was longer. Today it is generally 70 years after death.

Can a publisher bring an old book back into copyright?

No, says the IPO. A new edition's notes, illustrations or translation can have their own copyright, and its layout is protected for 25 years, but the unchanged old text stays free.

Are there odd exceptions?

Yes. Peter Pan's copyright expired in 1987, but since 1988 Great Ormond Street Hospital has had a perpetual right to royalties for the play. The right to print the 1611 King James Bible is licensed by the Crown.

08Sources

Whose book is it,
and for how long?