Hi Bryan,
Here you go... I'm sorry to say, the answer is not cut and dry and
will depend on the material you are interested in and the source of
that material.
U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (NARA):
Copyright, Restrictions, and Permissions Notice:
* "Generally, materials produced by Federal agencies are in the public
domain and may be reproduced without permission. However, not all
materials appearing on this Web site are in the public domain. Some
materials have been donated or obtained from individuals or
organizations and may be subject to restrictions on use.
* You may consult our reference staff for details on specific items.
We are aware of donor restrictions applicable to our collections, but
we can not confirm copyright status for any item. We recommend that
you contact the United States Copyright Office at The Library of
Congress to search currently copyrighted materials.
* Please note that because we cannot guaranty the status of specific
items, you use materials found in our holdings at your own risk.
* Images on our web site which are in the public domain may be used
without permission. If you use images from our web site, we ask that
you credit us as the source. Please note that some images on our site
have been obtained from other organizations. Permission to use these
images should be obtained directly from those organizations.
* Links may be made to our web site from other personal and
organizational web pages. We request that you link to our site rather
than downloading portions of it to another web server, so that our
viewers will see our most up-to-date information.
* Certain individuals depicted may claim rights in their likenesses
and images. Use of photographs or other materials found on NARA's Web
site may be subject to these claims. Anyone who intends to use these
materials commercially should contact the individuals depicted or
their representatives."
Donor Imposed Restrictions upon Materials in our Holdings:
"Please note that dissemination of some documents--including images,
sound, cartographic, textual, or electronic materials--found in our
holdings may be restricted by donor agreement. To purchase a copy of
these materials, you must obtain permission from the donor. We have
provided a Source and Permissions Contact List for some motion
pictures, sound and video which may assist you. If you have questions
about this process, please contact us."
Copyright Restrictions upon Materials in our Holdings:
"Some documents --including images, sound, cartographic, textual, or
electronic materials--found in our holdings may be copyrighted. Please
note that it is your responsibility to identify the copyright owner
and to obtain permission before making use of this material in any
way. We have provided a Source and Permissions Contact List for some
motion pictures, sound and video which may assist you. If you have
questions about this process, please contact us.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code)
governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of
copyrighted material. This law provides that under certain conditions
libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other
reproduction of materials. One of these specific conditions is that
the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other
than private study, scholarship, or research." If you use a photocopy
or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," you may be
liable for copyright infringement.
Please note: The National Archives and Records Administration reserves
the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment,
fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law."
http://www.archives.gov/global_pages/privacy_and_use.html
Source and Permission Contact List:
http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/film_sources_contact_list.html
Chapter 1: An Overview of Copyright: II.I. Fair Use:
"Probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in copyright law is
fair use. This is a doctrine that provides a defense to copyright
infringement for some acts. But determination of whether or not
something is a fair use is fact-intensive. No particular act is
automatically fair use, and all four factors listed in Section 107
must be considered: Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and
106A, the fair use
of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or
phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for
purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching
(including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
research, is not an infringement of copyright."
http://digital-law-online.info/lpdi1.0/treatise13.html
U.S. Copyright Office:
http://www.copyright.gov/
Well, there you have it (when is anything concerning the government
easy?). Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
hummer
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