Rights and Permissions
Using Images from Southern Oregon Digital Archives
Southern Oregon University’s (SOU) Hannon Library supports scholarship and research by providing digital reproductions of materials for private study and general use in our Southern Oregon Digital Archives (SODA). SOU encourages you to use materials from our collections that are in the public domain, and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law. Requests are fulfilled to the extent allowed by any applicable restrictions, including copyright regulations, privacy rights, donor-imposed regulations, or other rights related issues.
To place a request for permission to reproduce or publish an image for which SOU holds copyright, please submit a Permission Request Form.
Contact Information
Please contact us with any questions about Southern Oregon Digital Archives Rights and Permissions via email at libdigi@sou.edu.
Copyright and Use
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17 United States Code) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If you use a reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” you may be liable for copyright infringement.
We encourage you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain, and to make fair use of copyright materials as defined by copyright law.
Many of SOU’s special collection materials are subject to copyright law. While SOU owns the physical objects in its collections, in the majority of cases SOU does not own the intellectual content. SOU cannot grant or deny permission to publish or distribute material whose copyright it does not hold, or materials deemed to be in the public domain. Please note that copyright law protects published as well as unpublished materials.
Materials, and images of them, may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by SOU. In obtaining a material from SOU, responsibility for determining the rights status of materials, making an independent legal assessment of an item, and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with any person intending to use an item. The Patron is responsible for obtaining all required permissions from copyright holders, and other rights holders, before publishing, distributing, or in any other way using a protected item beyond that allowed by fair use.
Requests to copy SOU’s materials, where SOU appears to be the copyright holder, constitute an agreement that permission is granted for one-time, non-exclusive, worldwide use of an image in all languages, in any media, for the life of the title, as well as use in advertising and promotional materials. This does not imply permission for any derivative products or productions. Permissions for materials that SOU holds copyright over are not transferable. Resale of any material that SOU holds copyright over in any form is prohibited.
SOU will try to provide you with information regarding the holders of copyright for materials in their collections. Please note that often this information is not on file and SOU does not have the resources to conduct copyright research for Patrons. In such cases, it is the Patron’s responsibility to attempt to locate the copyright holder. SOU cannot guarantee the accuracy of any rights holder information, and shall not be responsible for any inaccurate information.
Attribution
The names of the Southern Oregon Digital Archives, Hannon Library, or Southern Oregon University must not be used in any manner that incorrectly implies any sponsorship or endorsement by SOU. When you use reproductions from SOU’s collections, please acknowledge SOU as the source of the material in the following manner:
[Title of item, date]; [Collection name, File Number/Identifier]; [URL]; Southern Oregon Digital Archives, Hannon Library, Southern Oregon University.
E.g. Pipe bowl fitting; Chinese Material Culture Collection, ANTH03i_13.09-0207-3; https://digital.sou.edu/digital/collection/p16085coll10/id/5/rec/81; Southern Oregon Digital Archives, Hannon Library, Southern Oregon University.
OR
Courtesy, Southern Oregon Digital Archives, Hannon Library, Southern Oregon University, [File Number/Identifier]; [URL]
E.g. Courtesy, Southern Oregon Digital Archives, Hannon Library, Southern Oregon University, SPEC04m_ashl.00-338.TIF; https://digital.sou.edu/digital/collection/p16085coll11/id/770/rec/27
Privacy and Publicity Rights
The Patron and subsequent publisher is solely responsible for addressing issues of privacy and publicity rights related to the use of SOU’s materials. Fair use is not a defense for violating privacy or publicity rights as the rights of privacy and publicity are distinct from copyright. Copyright laws protect the copyright owner’s property rights in the work, but privacy and publicity rights protect the interests of the individuals who are the subject of the work. While a person’s right to privacy usually ends with his or her death, it should be noted that publicity rights associated with any commercial value of that person’s name or image or likeness, continues after their death. Unlike copyright, which is subject to the Copyright Act of 1976, privacy and publicity rights are subject to state laws.
Disclaimer
In receiving a material from SOU, the Patron assumes all responsibility for infringement of copyright or other rights in the use of the material. SOU makes no warranties or representations and assumes no responsibility whatsoever for any claims against the applicant or SOU by artists, their agents, estates, or by any parties in connection with the reproduction of items in the collections of SOU.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don't you own the rights to the images in your collection?SOU’s mission is to inspire and empower people to make Oregon’s richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives. Part of realizing that mission is to make our collections accessible to the public though our research library and our digital collections. In many cases copyright and other rights were not transferred to SOU at the same time as the physical item was donated. Even though we do not own the rights to many of the materials, we feel it is important to share these historical documents with the people of Oregon and the world in a way that supports and encourages private study, scholarship, and research.
I am a textbook publisher. Do I need to get permission to use an image from SOU's collections?
SOU can give permission for materials over which we may hold copyright. If you are interested in such materials, please fill out our Permission Request Form.
SOU cannot give permission to use materials over which we do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the publishing party to determine the copyright status of an item.
I want to use one of your images in my book and my publisher requests that SOU sign a release form. Will you sign it?
It is the policy of SOU to require the user to complete SOU’s Permission Request Form in the cases where SOU owns the copyright over the material, and the materials will be used for commercial purposes.