Conditions Governing Use

Use the Label "Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use" when creating a Conditions Governing Use note in ArchivesSpace.

When the donor of a collection conveys copyright to the college and they are the creator, use the following statement:

To the extent that she owns copyright, [donor/creator] has assigned the copyright in her works to Smith College; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by [donor/creator], researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

When the donor of a collection conveys copyright to the college and they are not the creator, use the following statement:

To the extent that they own copyright, [donor] has assigned the copyright of [creator's] works to Smith College; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by [creator], researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

For College Archives materials whose provenance is unknown, use the following statement:

Smith College retains copyright of materials created as part of its business operations; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by Smith College, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

When an interviewer or interviewee retains copyright in an oral history interview, use the following abbreviated statement at the interview level:

To the extent that she owns copyright, [interviewer/interviewee name] has retained copyright to her work in this oral history interview.

When the donor of a collection explicitly retains copyright [for a period of time], use the following statement:

To the extent that she owns copyright, [donor] has retained copyright [until her death, until 2050, etc.] in her works donated to Smith College. [After [period of time], copyright in these works will transfer to Smith College.] Copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, or which may regard materials in the collection not created by [donor], researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

When copyright to a collection has been licensed for use with a Creative Commons CC-BY license, use the following statement:

To the extent that she owns copyright, [donor] has licensed her materials to be freely used, so long as the user attributes materials' original authorship to her. This agreement is governed by a CC-BY (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International) license. Copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by [donor], researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

When a collection is known to be entirely out of copyright, generally due to age, use the following statement:

Many materials in this collection are in the public domain due to the expiration of the term of copyright. Researchers need not seek or secure permission to re-use or reproduce materials in the public domain.

When a donor has given her materials to the public domain, use the following statement:

To the extent that she owned copyright, [donor] has dedicated copyright in her materials to the public domain. This agreement is governed by a CC0 (Creative Commons 1.0 Universal) public domain dedication. Copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by [donor], researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.

When the copyright status of a collection is unknown, use the following statement:

Materials in this collection may be governed by copyright. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. Researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.