Ochrona przysługująca twórcom grafiki artystycznej u mistrzów dawnych

Artists’ rights in printmaking during the Old Masters period The aim of this paper is to present a historic view on artists’ rights in printmaking before the advent of modern copyright protections. Previously, privilege was the main form of legal protection. In this paper, matters such as the aim and procedure of protection are described as well as the subjects entitled to receive and release this protection and its extent. It concerns the main countries in Europe specializing in printmaking during the Old Masters’ period of activity, which was between the 16th and 18th centuries. The last section of the article focuses on The Engraving Copyright Act 1734, an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which is stated to be a prototype of modern copyright and its applicability to the historical context.