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Library Digital Initiatives

 

Understanding Copyright for Digitization Projects

As more and more materials are made available online, expectations for digital access increase across campus. The librarians at UCO field many requests about how to make content available online and have developed this page to help guide folks as to what is and what is not possible. In general, you must perform copyright due diligence and obtain permission from the copyright holder/s to digitize content and make it available online. Items with copyright due diligence and hosted in repositories maintained by the Library are subject to our take-down policy.

For questions about specific initiatives or ideas:

Due Diligence

Before any digitization projects can begin, efforts to identify, contact, and receive permission from the copyright holder/s must be made. This process is known as due diligence, which can also function as a defense to any claims of infringement. Additionally, some works may not have readily-identifiable information about their copyright owner/s (orphan works). For any materials digitized at UCO, we are expected to have sufficient documentation demonstrating that copyright due diligence was performed.

Work Performed Documentation Examples Caveats
Verify if resource has existing online access (both paid and free);
  • Evidence of subject-appropriate sources searched
  

A search of the records of the Copyright Office that are available to the public through the Internet and relevant to identifying and locating copyright owners, provided there is sufficient identifying information on which to construct a search;
  • Evidence of copyright owner/s from original item and consequent searches for copyright owner/s performed in Copyright Public Records Portal.
  • Evidence of contact information
  • Evidence of copyright registration for original item

Lack of identifying information of copyright owner/s is insufficient documentation.
A search of reasonably available sources of copyright authorship and ownership information and, where appropriate, licensor information;
  • Evidence of searches for copyright owner/s performed in Copyright Public Records Portal
  • Evidence of communication from the publisher or distributor verifying copyright owner/s
  
Use of appropriate technology tools, printed publications, and where reasonable, internal or external expert assistance; and
  • Evidence of electronic or physical communication from copyright owner/s
 Communication to the copyright owner/s with no response from them is insufficient documentation.
Use of appropriate databases, including databases that are available to the public through the Internet. Lack of awareness of appropriate databases is insufficient; we encourage researchers to contact our research librarians to help with identifying appropriate databases.