The permission policy for the UC Berkeley Library, including The Bancroft Library, significantly changed in April 2019. Full information about these policies can be found below.
Information can be found below for the following permission types:
Please see our Frequently Asked Questions tab if you have a question about permissions that is not answered below.
The Bancroft Library requests a complimentary copy of all publications which make significant use of its collections.
In keeping with Library policy, researchers seeking to quote from or otherwise reproduce in facsimile any Library collections materials in researchers’ own publications or other public displays do not need copyright permission to make uses that constitute “fair use” under copyright law. (Fair use is described further on the "Copyright Services" tab of this guide.)
Please use the following chart to determine whether you must obtain copyright permission from the rightsholder (which may be the Library) to publish content from within the Library’s collections, and whether a fee may be assessed.
| Copyright Status of Work | Permission Requirements |
| Work is in the public domain | No copyright permission is needed or provided. No fee to publish. |
| UC Regents own copyright | Library’s copyright permission is required to publish only if researcher determines that the intended use exceeds fair use. If Library’s copyright permission is sought, follow the instructions on the "How to Order Services" tab of this guide. |
| Third party owns copyright | No permission from Library required or given. Copyright permission is required from third-party copyright holder if researcher determines that the intended use exceeds fair use. Any fee schedule is set by actual copyright holder. |
Note that this chart applies to copyright permissions only, and does not include due diligence that researchers must conduct regarding other legal restrictions that may apply to the materials’ use and distribution (e.g. privacy and publicity rights; contract, donor and other restrictions). It is the researcher’s responsibility to assess permissible uses under all laws and conditions.
As indicated in the chart at the above link, for instances in which your intended publishing would exceed fair use and it is the UC Regents who hold copyright to the underlying work, you must request the Library’s copyright permission to publish by submitting a permissions order in Aeon. Information about fees charged can be found on The Bancroft Library's fee schedule.
The Library cannot grant or deny requests to publish materials for which a third party holds copyright. Researchers must contact the copyright holder or copyright holder’s estate—rather than the Library—to request permission if the intended use will exceed fair use.
The University of California Regents own copyright to all photographs by Thérèse Bonney, whether they are held in our collection or not. Other institutions may supply you with digital image files derived from original Bonney work in their institution, but if you determine that your use exceeds fair use (see Determining Whether Your Intended Use Is "Fair Use") then a license must be obtained before publication can occur.
[Fernand Leger sitting next to his painting of three women], Thérèse Bonney photograph collection [graphic], BANC PIC 1982.111 ser. 16 Leger, Fernand--POR 15. © The Regents of the University of California, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
The Library charges a fee for reproducing full-text/entire edition of a work based on nature of your intended use (commercial vs. non-commercial). Permission can only be granted for material to which the University of California Regents own the copyright. If the Library’s copyright permission is sought, submit the Permission to Publish Request and Agreement.
Historically, all interviews were transcribed from their original recordings (usually on reel to reel tapes or cassettes) and interviewees were given the right to review, edit, and seal the interview if they wished. Many interviewees submitted edits, deletions, and seals upon the reviewing the full transcript. When these edits were made in the final transcript that document then becomes the document of record, and end-users are then required to quote from the transcript rather than the original recordings, which remain unedited.
We understand that there may be requests to listen to, and possibly use the audio recording, rather than the written word. In order to allow access to this material while preserving the intent behind having the transcript be the document of record the following steps must be taken:
If you would like to request to listen to the original recordings in the reading room, submit your request in Aeon requesting the specific tape numbers you found in the tape guide of the transcript. Instructions on how to do so can be found here.
If you would like to request a digital file of the original recordings, submit your order in Aeon requesting the specific tape numbers you found in the tape guide of the transcript. Instructions on how to do so can be found here. Note that a duplication fee will be charged for each carrier ordered; the fee schedule can be found here. If the digital files need to be created from the original tapes it takes up to 60 business days to receive the files.
The Director of the Oral History collection will need to approve your request before access can be allowed, as all oral history A/V material is restricted.
