Resources

Digitization & Copyright

Starting a digitization project? Consider copyright best practices from across the library and archives community.

Researching the Current Landscape

What happens when Backstage digitizes my materials?

Backstage Library Works is a services provider. We digitize materials that belong to libraries and archives. The digital files we produce belong to our clients.

Backstage claims no ownership of or license to the digital image files we produce for you. We retain a copy of these files for a brief period, to provide backups during the delivery, review, and approval stages at the end of our digitization process. When we use digitized images for demonstration or promotional purposes, it is with the permission of our client.

We cannot offer legal advice, ascertain ownership of copyright or other intellectual property rights for your materials, or provide assurances that your intended application constitutes protected fair use. Please consult your institution’s copyright policies or legal counsel for applicable guidelines. As you explore perspectives on copyright law, we find it useful to highlight a few points that affect many of our clients.

It is common practice for libraries and archives to create digital copies of materials in their collections for preservation and access purposes. Many examples of institutional copyright policies and legal analyses of permitted use are available online. Key concepts for interpreting copyright law in libraries include fair use, first sale doctrine, and controlled digital lending.
In copyright law, there is often some ambiguity as to what use is legally permitted. The library and archives community has built and continues to build a body of common practice that may provide some protection against frivolous legal action.
Control or ownership of a physical copy, or even of a one-of-a-kind original, does not ensure intellectual property rights to that content. When archival materials are donated, many institutions include a discussion of copyright with the rights holder.
If a party claims that your use violates their rights, they can file a lawsuit. For those acting in good faith, a written request or a formal cease-and-desist or DMCA notice is often a first step.
Some institutions choose to control access to certain collections so only devices within the building or registered patrons online can use those resources.
Your institution’s decisions for how to provide patron access to digitized content will be different from the analysis a researcher should take when planning to include your digital images in their published work. Many digital asset management platforms (DAMs) facilitate posting copyright guidelines for patrons who use your institution’s resources.