Licensing of the Press Act 1662 in the context of 14 Cha. 2

⭐ Core Definition: Licensing of the Press Act 1662

The Licensing of the Press Act 1662 (14 Cha. 2. c. 33), was an act of the Parliament of England with the long title An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Books and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses. Having expired in 1695, it was officially repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125), which repealed a large set of superseded acts.

The act was originally limited to two years but was extended until 1694. The provisions as to importation of books, the appointment of licensers, and the number of printers and founders were practically re-enactments of the similar provisions in an order of the Star Chamber of 1637 and also various ordinances and acts passed during the Interregnum.

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Licensing of the Press Act 1662 in the context of Statute of Anne

The Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act 1709 or the Copyright Act 1710 (cited either as 8 Ann. c. 21 or as 8 Ann. c. 19), 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.

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