Copyright Resources

Each January 1 (beginning in 2019), the date for works in the public domain moves forward one year.
In 2024, most works published in the U.S. before 1929 fell into the public domain.

Review of Copyright and Reproduction of Works

• Copyright - Circular 21

Overview of Digitizing Collections

• Issues to Consider Before Digitization https://lucidea.com/blog/issues-to-consider-before-digitization/
• Can/Should We Digitize This? https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jan23/Vollmer--Navigating-Ethics-Law-and-Policy-in-Digitizing-Collections.shtml
• Library Digitization Projects and Copyright. https://www.llrx.com/2002/06/library-digitization-projects-and-copyright-part-i-introduction-and-overview/   A very readable overview of what librarians need to know about copyright.
• Well-Intentioned Practice for Putting Digitized Collections of Unpublished Materials Online http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/activities/rights/practice.pdf
• Library of Congress legal statement regarding copyright, privacy and publicity rights https://www.loc.gov/legal/

Public Domain, Fair Use and *Orphan Works

• Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States, updated annually in January.  https://copyright.cornell.edu/publicdomain   Comprehensive table with information about the copyright term for unpublished items, items published in the United States and internationally, sound recordings and special cases.
• Digital Copyright Slider, ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, 2012. http://librarycopyright.net/resources/digitalslider/index.html. An easy-to-use calculator shows whether or not will need permission is required.
• Copyright and Fair Use Charts and Tools. http://fairuse.stanford.edu/charts-and-tools/#digital_images Excellent links, including information on media and performance works.
• Determining Orphan Works vs. Public Domain Status for Print Works Published in the U.S. from 1923 through 1977  http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/libr_pubs/21 Flowchart to help determine if your item is in the public domain.
• Digitizing Orphan Works: Legal strategies to reduce risks  Report from Orphan Works Project https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/27840430/OrphanWorksReportFINAL.pdf?sequence=3

 *Orphan works: Items that are copyright protected, but for which the copyright owner cannot be determined or located.  If needed, use this term to investigate issues surrounding their publication.

 Researching Copyright Status

• How to Investigate Copyright Status, Circular 22, U.S. Copyright Office  http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf  Includes an overview of copyright issues
• Search copyright registration & renewals:
  Copyright Public Records Portal https://www.copyright.gov/public-records/ (1790-present)
  Additional search resources:
  https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First  (1978 to present)
  http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/ (1789-present)
  https://books.google.com/googlebooks/copyrightsearch.html (1922-1977)

Copyright Permission Information

• The Basics of Getting Permission https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/introduction/getting-permission/
• How to Get Copyright Permission or a License? https://copyrightalliance.org/faqs/copyright-permission-or-license/
• Copyright Permission Sample Form  https://www.law.du.edu/sites/default/files/2023-04/Copyright_Permission_Request_Example.pdf

Rights Statements

• http://rightsstatements.org/page/1.0/?language=en Rights statements for different copyright situations.  See SCKLS “Rights Statements” document for code to copy/paste into Omeka item records.

Copyright Code: Reproduction by Libraries

• Digital Preservation and Copyright  A thorough and surprisingly readable overview
• The Copyright Act: § 108  Focus on preservation and access
• Section 108 Study Group  Additional information