SEC filings. Foreign firms

The SEC allowed but did not require foreign companies to file via the
EDGAR system until November 2002. Any filings prior to November 2002 are
most likely to have been submitted to the SEC in paper form. Those
documents would now be available either as microfiche or as PDFs scanned
from the paper/microfiche. You will not find a comprehensive collection of
these documents online for free. The vendor with the most consistent
online coverage over this time period would be Thomson Reuters Research,
800-638-8241 or http://research.thomsonib.com/ if you have a subscription.
Westlaw Business, formerly GSI Livedgar, 800-669-1154 or
http://www.gsionline.com/, would have coverage over this period, but there
will likely be gaps. SECnet,
http://secnet.cch.com/homepagecontent/info/docrates.htm, may be another
resource though I have never used their service for this purpose.
(Thanks, Lisa Cordes!)