[1] In France, the royal Code de la librairie of 1723 codified existing practice.
Authors wishing to see their manuscript printed had no choice but to sell it to guild members.
In 1789, the National Assembly created by the French Revolution brought an end to all royal privileges.
General patents were usually granted for life and covered a class of works, such as law books or almanacs.
The importance of printing privileges decreased over time, but they still existed after the Statute of Anne was enacted.