Trade Associations

Trade Associations are the agents of regulation in publishing. Writers and Publishers create formal and informal confederations to protect their publishing businesses and ward off competition. The creation of these associations sparked when the book trade began to expand across Europe and beyond.

The History

As the book industry began to expand, publishers recognized the growth of competition. In order to combat the competition, publishing houses began joining together to make the first trade associations. One of the earliest known trade associations is the IPA, or the International Publishers Association. This association was founded in 1896 and focused on global copyright and the freedom of speech. Alongside the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the UK Publishers Association (PA), these organizations worked to protect the rights of authors and publishers across the industry. Among these protected rights were the rights to copyright, freedom of speech through literature, and marketing issues. These corporations worked to protect publishers and allowed the industry to expand beyond what it was originally capable of.