Copyright Guidance

Spec receives many patron requests involving reproduction/use of Spec collection items. In these cases, it is usually appropriate for Spec employees to offer the patron guidance regarding copyright. General guidance about copyright can be found on the Special Collections and Archives section of the Library website: Copyright Information. Because this guidance is fairly lengthy and is not easily adapted to specific inquiries, this article provides both some quick points about responding to requests in which copyright may be a concern and some language to use as a guide in answering emails.

Some points to keep in mind:

  • In the vast majority of cases, Spec does not own the copyright to the material and/or does not have information about who does own the copyright. It is best to assume that all creative works are copyright protected unless you can prove otherwise.

  • It is generally true that materials created by the university/university employees are owned by the university. If these materials are still under copyright (based on age), consult with the Head of Special Collections and Archives, who may recommend filling out 2023 Update_Request to Use

  • Materials that are generally in the public domain (not protected by copyright) include federal government publications and items that are past the copyright term of 95 years from date of publication (in 2025, most items created before 1930 have passed into the public domain).

  • Copyright does not prohibit Fair Use of an item. Most archival research is personal or scholarly and therefore falls under Fair Use. However, each situation is unique, so it may be useful to consult the Fair Use boxes in the Copyright Information section of the Spec web page.

  • If you’re uncertain, ask colleagues and/or do some research.

Email language examples:

General warnings:

So that you’re aware, these items are very likely still under copyright; the University of Idaho Library does not hold the copyright, so we cannot grant permissions. However, your use of these items may be considered fair use. We have a quick guide on our website, but I recommend doing further research if you’re unsure. Please note that the University of Idaho Library is not liable for any violations of the law by users.

Please note that the University of Idaho does not hold the copyright for the photos in this collection, therefore we cannot give permission to use the images. You may determine that your intended use falls within fair use of copyrighted materials. We offer some information about copyright on our website here. Please note that the University of Idaho Library is not liable for any violations of the law by users.

We can certainly provide a digital copy of the image, but it would be you or your publisher’s responsibility to determine the legality of using the image.

For public domain:

That image has passed into the public domain due to its age, so you are free to use it (we have no copyright for it and therefore cannot grant permission, but it is free of copyright restrictions in any case). We would appreciate if you’d use the citation information at the bottom of the page you referenced, as it will allow researchers to find both the online image and information about the item.

The images you inquired about appear to be in the public domain. Items generally pass into the public domain 95 years after the date of creation. The photos you linked meet that criteria. We do ask that reproductions include information about the source of the image.

Materials produced by federal agencies (such as the US Forest Service) are generally in the public domain and can therefore be reproduced without permission.

For requests involving digital collection items:

We do not, unfortunately, hold the copyright for the materials preserved in the [example collection]. The collection was donated to U of I, but commercial reproduction rights were not included in the transfer. We make some material available under the educational fair use clause of copyright law.

If you want to give the person somewhere else to inquire:

The University of Idaho doesn’t hold the copyright on the photo, so we don’t have a legal standing to grant use permission. The source notes that it is from [fill in the blank]. You could try contacting that institution and asking about them about permissions. Their email is [fill in the blank].

For materials that Spec doesn’t actually hold:

The provenance of this digitized photo collection is murky. My institution does not possess a physical copy of the photo, and the digital copy was acquired from the [fill in the blank]. I am unaware of any records indicating that [fill in the blank] transferred copyright privileges to University of Idaho Library.

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