Copyright and Legal Information Use

WMU Libraries are committed to promoting access to information while honoring author rights and the legal use of protected information.

WMU Copyright Guidelines for Course Reserves
University Libraries may place articles or book chapters on electronic course reserve for the WMU community provided that the materials adhere to fair use and copyright guidelines. University Libraries will seek copyright clearance for reserve materials that exceed “fair use” guidelines and will pay any fees up to $50 for one semester.

Release form for Reserve Use of Student Projects

Copyright for WMU Digitized Collections
University Libraries Digitization Center can digitize materials that are in the (External) Public Domain or if copyright (External) permissions are granted by the copyright owner. Terms of use for items in WMU’s digital collections vary with the item and collection. Most provide for educational use under “fair use” guidelines. Read the copyright information that accompanies each item and provide appropriate accreditation.

Copying and Sharing
“Fair use” balances authors’ rights with educational needs. It does NOT grant unrestricted use of information at the University. An intended use must satisfy the four fair use factors and typically can only be applied one time for a particular copyrighted work. If fair use does not apply then permission must be requested.

(External) Copyright Clearance Center
Use this site to request permission to reproduce copyrighted materials such as figures, articles and book chapters in photocopies and derivative works such as publications, coursepacks, marketing literature, Web sites and more.

Posting information online
Online information provided by WMU Libraries is usually restricted to current WMU students, faculty and staff. You should NOT post a full text copy on the open Web. Instead provide a persistent url link to it. See also Retain your author/creator copyrights

Downloading
You may download targeted items for learning and research from WMU library information resources but you may not systematically download or print substantial portions of databases, create derivative products, obscure or modify copyright notices or share content with non-WMU users without permission from the copyright holder.

Retain your author/creator copyrights
It is not necessary or desirable to sign away the exclusive rights to your work in exchange for publication. It limits your ability to post your own work online, use it in course packs or include it in web-based repositories. Modifications to publisher agreements and alternative licensing options can be found at the (External) SPARC and (External) Creative Commons sites. (External) RoMEO provides publisher policies on posting previously published articles on the web and in open access repositories

Additional Copyright Resources

Change Text Only Settings

Graphic version of this page