The first law regulating copyright in the world was issued in Great Britain on 10-Apr-1710, making it possible for authors to truly own their own work.

“the Author of any Book or Books already Printed, who hath not Transferred to any other the Copy or Copies of such Book or Books, Share or Shares thereof, or the Bookseller or Booksellers, Printer or Printers, or other Person or Persons, who hath or have Purchased or Acquired the Copy or Copies of any Book or Books, in order to Print or Reprint the same, shall have the sole Right and Liberty of Printing such Book and Books for the Term of one and twenty years

The first progressive copyright law is commonly said to have been the Statute of Queen Anne, ratified by the British Parliament in 1710 in response to the king’s practice of confining the flow of information by yielding perpetual “exclusive rights” to certain favored publishers.

More at: historyofcopyright.org