Legal deposit

On 2 July 1801 the royal assent was given to the Act for the further encouragement of learning, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, by securing the copies and copyright of printed books, to the authors of such books, or their assigns for the time herein mentioned. The effect of this Act, the Copyright Act of 1801, was to extend copyright in printed books to include Ireland and to place Trinity's Library on an equal footing with those of the English and Scottish universities in that it was now entitled to receive a free copy of books published in the United Kingdom. It was fundamental in determining the development of the Library to the present day. From it derives much of Trinity's status as one of the great libraries of the world and from it also derive most of the problems of space and funding with which the College has had to grapple ever since.

The impact of the legislation was not felt immediately, and in the College records there is no mention either of the passing of the Act or – for almost a year – of the deposit of books. There is no evidence that Trinity played any role in encouraging the extension of copyright protection or the deposit of books to Ireland, but it is clear that the new Act had a devastating effect on many areas of the Irish book trade.