You might find digging through "The Pamphleteer" (London, early 1800's) = useful. The first mention of debates on copyrights, etc. that I've come = across was found there. For example, Anon: "An address to Parliament of = Great Britain on the Claims of Authors to THeir Own Copy-right" (Vol 2, = 1813, pp. 170-202). Also, Anon: "The Case between the Public Libraries = and the Booksellers" (Same, pp. 341-68) While not HET proper (as these essays were written contemporaneous to = the events described), they do provide a setting for the early debates = over intellectual property rights. Hope this helps a bit. John Henry