Copyright and our archives

The Bodleian Libraries and the other libraries and archives at the University of Oxford have vast and unique collections. Accessing and reusing items from archival collections can involve a range of copyright considerations depending on the copyright status of the works. Archives can include:

  • in-copyright material
  • out of copyright material (public domain)
  • material where the copyright status is unclear

This page provides general information on what we do to meet our responsibility to copyright owners and what you need to know when using items from our archives.

On this page:

Copyright ownership of collection items

Like all libraries, we maintain catalogues to help you locate items of relevance to your research and study. However, we usually don’t have a record of who owns the copyright in these collection items. This is largely because copyright ownership isn’t provided when we add items to the collection. 

If the items you want to use were created by the person or organisation who donated the archive to us, we are more likely to have information about the copyright owner. However, in many cases we don’t know the identity of copyright owners of items in our archives. This means that if you want to reproduce or share copies of in-copyright items in our collections, you will usually need to do your own research into the rights. 

You should bear in mind that the first owner of a copyright work under UK law is the person or people who created it; but if the work was made under a contract of employment, the employer usually owns the copyright.

Works created by government employees or politicians working in official roles may be subject to Crown Copyright. Much of this material is licensed for reuse under the Open Government Licence.  

Visit the National Archives' guide to Crown Copyright.

Personal data in archives, including images of living people

Although data protection laws are different from copyright, you will likely need to think about personal data at the same time as copyright. Items in our 20th- and 21st-century archives will often contain personal data such as names, contact details and photographs of living people. 

When using our archives, we expect you to treat any personal data you encounter with due care and respect, and in line with UK data protection law, which requires you to ensure that your use of personal data is not damaging or distressing to any data subject. In practice, this means considering the potential impact of your research on living people and putting in place appropriate safeguards to protect their privacy. 

If you obtain copies of archive material containing personal data, you are responsible for ensuring that this is stored securely and processed in ways that are compatible with the law, including disposing of the material when it is no longer needed for your research.

Getting copies of archive material

There are three main ways of getting copies of material in our archives:

  • requesting a copy via the mediated copying service
  • ordering a publication quality version via our Imaging Services team
  • taking a photograph of the item yourself

The following sections explain how copyright works in relation to the above.

Supplying works under library privilege copyright provisions

We can usually supply you with copies of in-copyright works from our collections for non-commercial research purposes under what is often called ‘library privilege’. These are provisions in UK copyright law that allow libraries to do certain things without the need for permission from the copyright holder.

When you request copies of collection items through either the mediated copying service or Imaging Services, we may be able to supply these to you under library privilege. In this case you will need to complete a form which includes a declaration confirming that you need the copy for your non-commercial research or private study, and that you will not share the copy with others. This means that you do not have the right to publish or communicate the works online unless you have a relevant licence or an exception applies.

Supply and use of orphan works

Orphan works are creative works (or performances) subject to copyright, such as a diary, a letter, a photograph, a film, or a piece of music, for which one or more of the right holders is either unknown or cannot be found.

If you want to reuse collection items that are orphan works, you will need to undertake a ‘due diligence’ search to be able to use them lawfully. Depending on the content, you should be prepared for your due diligence search to be inconclusive and therefore you may need to use a risk-based approach.

Using items from our collections in publications

If you want to reproduce items from our collections in a publication or for another purpose, you can request high-quality images from our Imaging Services team. If the works are in copyright, you may need permission from the copyright owner(s) to reproduce them.

If the underlying items are out of copyright, you will not need permission from a copyright owner to reproduce them. However, you will need to follow our terms of service (PDF).

Taking and using your own photographs of collection items

You can take your own photographs of items in our collection to help with your research. If you want to share the photos with others, and if the items are in copyright, then you will need to make sure you have got the permission of the copyright owner, or that a copyright exception applies. 

We recommend contacting Imaging Services if you need high resolution images for publication or other purposes.

Research practices for archive material to support later re-use

We recommend that you keep detailed notes of items which you may wish to re-use when researching in the archives. Recording important details at this stage will help with any future research in relation to copyright and privacy. At a minimum we would suggest keeping a note of the names of creators, a brief description, the date of creation, and shelfmark information.

Acknowledging the Bodleian Libraries

If you share content from our archives with others, we request that you acknowledge the Bodleian Libraries (or the relevant University of Oxford institution) and include a citation to help future users. We offer guidance on citing archives held by the Bodleian Libraries.