Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) welcomes you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law. Please cite us.
Materials held by SCUA may be protected by United States Copyright Law and/or by the copyright laws of other countries. Copyright law protects unpublished as well as published materials.
SCUA does not claim to control the rights for reproduction for all materials or images in its collections. Certain images or materials may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by ISU.
If ISU does not clearly hold the copyright to an item, SCUA cannot grant or deny permission to use that material.
In obtaining a reproduction from SCUA, you assume all responsibility for determining whether any permissions relating to copyright, privacy, publicity, trademark, or any other rights are necessary for your intended use, and for obtaining all required permissions. Written permission from the copyright holders and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use.
SCUA will not do research concerning the existence and/or whereabouts of rights holders. To the extent that we provide available information, the Library does not warranty the accuracy of such information and shall not be responsible for any inaccurate information. SCUA will not facilitate or execute requests for permission.
The Society of American Archivists provides further guidance about using copyrighted and unpublished materials. The U.S. Copyright Office provides information about How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work (PDF). When you cannot identify or locate the current copyright owner of a copyrighted work, the copyrighted material is sometimes called an “orphan work.” Columbia University Libraries provides advice about documenting searches for copyright owners and using orphan works.
When you use material, you must properly acknowledge ISU Special Collections and University Archives as the source of the material.
You also must not use the name of Special Collections and University Archives, the University Library, or ISU in any manner which creates any false association between you and the image, materials, the Library, and/or ISU, or that incorrectly implies any sponsorship or endorsement by the Library, ISU, or any third party rights holder.
If you have any more information about an item you've seen on our website or if you are the copyright owner and believe our website has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, we want to hear from you. Please email us with your contact information and a link to the relevant content.