Copyright of Items in This Repository

Most items in this repository are copyright © by their original authors/creators or by the publishers to whom those rights have been transferred.

Inclusion in this open-access online repository does not alter the copyright status of any document.

The holders of copyright are declared in most cases where they are known, and these are the parties who control the rights to further re-use of the materials.

Users are free to download, save, and print materials found here for their own use. With some exceptions (noted below), users should not re-publish, re-post, or redistribute materials without permission of the holders of copyrights.

Some exceptions:

Materials published under a Creative Commons license may be re-used, re-posted, etc., for non-commercial purposes as long as credit or attribution is given to the original authors and publications.

Materials that are in the public domain may be re-used in any way without limitation. These include:

  • works published before January 1, 1925,
  • works published before January 1, 1963, without copyright notice or whose copyrights were not renewed,
  • works whose authors have been dead for more than 75 years, unless previously copyrighted and still within term
  • United States government works, including US Patents and works by US government employees created in the course of their official duties

The doctrine of fair use permits the quotation or reproduction of excerpts from a copyrighted work without permission. The entire work, however, may not be excerpted. The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

US law permits the classroom display or use of copyrighted works within the context of instruction at an accredited non-profit educational institution without further permission. This does not extend to distribution of such works, however.

Under current law, copyright is granted automatically and immediately to the author/creator of a work; there is no requirement for registration or notification.

These rules apply in the United States; foreign and international copyright rules may vary.