Revised July 24, 2015
Copyright and Use of Archival Materials in the Presidential Libraries
Materials in the Presidential libraries that were created and produced by United States Federal agencies, or by an officer or
employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties (including the President), are considered
works of the United States Government. These works are not eligible for copyright protection, in the United States, and are
treated as though they are in the public domain (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html
#105). However, not all
materials in the holdings of the Presidential libraries operated by the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) are in the public domain. Some materials may contain, in whole or in part, material which is restricted by Federal
copyright law, state common law or state statutes that protect intellectual property, contract law, deed restrictions, or
publicity rights in the United States or in other countries.
The Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other
reproductions of copyrighted material (
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/). This law provides that under certain conditions,
libraries and archives are authorized to furnish reproductions of materials, allowing that the reproduction is not to be "used
for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." Commercial or other uses without permission, beyond
what may be considered in excess of "fair use" exemptions under Title 17 of the
Copyright Law, may make the user liable for copyright infringement.
Where obvious copyright or donor imposed restrictions apply, written permission from the rights holders may be required
before NARA approves a reproduction request. Where the status of an item that is part of NARA's holdings is unknown or
cannot be determined, NARA will generally make it available for reproduction with a warning to the user that the
responsibility for the subsequent use of the materials lies solely with the end user per NARA regulations at 36 C.F.R.
1254.62. This responsibility includes determining, for each of the items provided, whether all or part of the work has been
copyrighted, and whether that protection has lapsed. This responsibility also includes determining whether any
performance-based or other rights are claimed in the items provided.
NARA does not confirm copyright status for any items, indemnify the user from legal or other action, or provide a
definitive statement of public domain status, copyright, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. Further, NARA
does not license its content, or grant exclusive or non-exclusive publication privileges or usage rights to records. NARA
can provide users with any information that was acquired with the material, such as accession files, agency catalogs, scripts
and production files, and deed of gift agreements.
NARA reserves the right to refuse to fill any reproduction request if, in NARA's judgment, fulfillment of the order might
violate copyright law, or is not accompanied by permission from the copyright holder or collection donor. NARA
maintains a Source and Permissions Contact List for some motion pictures, sound and video sources, available at:
http://www.archives.govIresearch/order/film -sources-contact-list.html
NARA recommends that researchers contact the United States Copyright Office at The Library of Congress to search
currently copyrighted materials, or seek guidance from an outside intellectual property rights clearance specialists. For
more information about copyright law in the United States, please visit the United States Copyright Office:
http://www.copyright.gov/
For more information and exceptions to Copyright in U.S. Government works, please see:
http://www.usa.gov/copyright.shtml#
Collections with significant copyright issues
There are particular types of collections with a much higher prevalence of copyrighted material in them. These collections
include:
• Commercially produced television or film footage, such as news broadcasts;
• Audio recordings, including many oral history collections where the individuals speaking were not, at the time of
the recording, government employees acting in their official capacity;
• Unpublished manuscripts donated by individuals other than the author.
Researchers are encouraged to seek additional information from reference room staff about these types of materials.