Archival Collection Terms of Use

Welcome to the digital archival collection area of Recollection: A Civil Rights Legal Archive (the “Site”). LDF is making this archival collection and the tools to navigate it (collectively, the “Collection”) available to the public for general educational and research purposes, as well as to preserve and contextualize the history of the content and materials it contains (collectively, the “Materials”). There is no fee for accessing or using the Materials, but there are some limitations on how you can use them. By accessing and using any of the Materials in the Collection, you agree to the terms and conditions set forth in these Additional Terms of Use (the “Additional Terms”), which supplement and form a part of the general Terms of the Site. If you do not agree to these Additional Terms, please do not use the Materials in the Collection.  

Copyright and other rights to consider: Like other archival collections, such as those found in libraries, LDF owns the physical source Materials that have been digitized for the Collection; however, LDF does not own the underlying copyright or other rights in all items. Please be aware that: 

  • The Materials that were created by LDF, including briefs, pleadings, annual reports, legal research, attorney’s notes, and outgoing correspondence, are owned by LDF. Some Materials are in the public domain (primarily due to their age or because they are government created works). Use of Materials known to be in the public domain is unrestricted.  
  • Some Materials, including newspaper clippings, incoming correspondence, and photographs, are owned by others and, in certain instances, LDF may not know who owns the copyright. The U.S. Copyright Office provides information about How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work.   
  • Fair Use is an exception defined under U.S. Copyright Law that allows use of any copyright protected materials for certain limited purposes without permission.  
  • The use of some Materials (especially photographs) may involve trademarks, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other interests not owned or controlled by LDF. 

How can I use the Materials: We encourage you to view, read, and/or hear the Materials and to interact with them within the Site itself without limitation. That is the primary purpose of the Collection. If you want to download, publish, or reuse any of the Materials outside the Site and you do not know if that Material is in the public domain, the following applies: 

  • For those Materials owned by LDF, you hereby confirm and attest that your use of the Material outside the Site is solely for one or more of the following (the “Permitted Purposes”):
    • Non-commercial research and private study;
    • Teaching, scholarship, and instruction (including distance learning);  
    • Non-commercial print and non-commercial online use;  
    • Criticism, comment, or news reporting; or
    • For people with visual disabilities (See Section 121 of the Copyright Act).
  • If you publish or redistribute any Materials (including excerpts and quotes), you must include a credit line and/or proper citation to the source of the Material. Where possible, photographs should have a credit line alongside the image. However, you may not use the name of LDF in any manner which creates any false association between you and LDF or that incorrectly implies any sponsorship or endorsement of you by LDF. See the citation guidelines on each archival item’s webpage.  
     
    For clarity, LDF hereby grants you the right to use LDF owned Materials for the Permitted Purposes without seeking further permission from LDF.  
  • Additionally, you may make any use that falls under the Fair Use exception or seek permission from the rights holder. For those Materials not owned by LDF:
    • It is your responsibility to determine whether the way you plan to use the materials falls within the copyright exception of Fair Use.  
    • For anything exceeding Fair Use, you must determine what permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for your intended use. It is your responsibility to seek and obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders.  
    • Note that LDF does not provide assistance with obtaining such additional rights clearances beyond the information it makes available to you on the Site.  
  • NOTICE: Uses that do not comply with these Additional Terms or that do not fall under Fair Use (or another exception) may make you liable for copyright infringement. 

DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS: The Site, the Collection and the Materials are provided “as is” and “as available” for informational purposes only and not for any commercial use. The Collection offers access to a broad range of historical Materials that are historical artifacts meant to be viewed in the context in which they were created. LDF is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any Material (including information or data contained therein). To the extent that LDF includes information about the Materials’ origins or ownership or provides summaries or transcripts of original source Materials, LDF does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of such information, transcripts, or summaries, and shall not be responsible for any inaccuracies. LDF does not guarantee that the Collection or any specific Material will continue to be available. LDF may delete or change Materials or stop providing the Collection at any time for any reason. You understand that the Materials in the Collection do not constitute any form of legal advice or opinion of any kind.  

The Collection includes oral history recordings which rely on the personal memories, perceptions, and opinions of each participating narrator based on their own experiences and interpretations of past events. Any statements, recollections, opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the oral history materials are those of each narrator and should not be understood as either statements of fact by, nor to reflect the views of, LDF or the Southern Oral History Program.  

Copyright Claims: If you are the copyright holder of any Material and believe the Collection has not properly attributed your work to you or has used it without permission, you should contact LDF at info@ldfrecollection.org with your contact information and a link to the relevant Material. 

Other useful links: U.S. Copyright Office Database; copyright law; Library of Congress; Society of American Archivists; Stanford Libraries.

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