Understanding copyright

Copyright information for clients has been developed by National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA) to help you better understand how you may use or copy material that you find on State Library of Queensland’s website or in its collection.

Download the guide to discover:

• What is copyright and who owns copyright?
• When do I need permission to copy and re-use?
• What are exceptions to the Copyright Act?
• How do I find copyright owners?
• Copying and re-using works with Indigenous cultural content
• Useful links for more information

Many of State Library’s digitised photographs and other digitised collections are out of copyright, so you can print, copy or download them without asking permission.

You may not print, download or copy collection material that is still in copyright without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder, unless allowed by exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth.).

See the Copyright information for clients guide for more information about exceptions. Note that special requirements may apply to material that is culturally sensitive.

When using digitised content from the collection we ask that you acknowledge State Library of Queensland in the following way:

Photographs: John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Neg or Image No: xxxxxx

Other material: Title. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland

If you are using digitised content we also ask that you provide a link back to the image in our collection in your acknowledgement:

John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland, Neg or Image No: xxxxxx. http://hdl.handle.net/xxxxx/xxxxx/xxxxxx

Titles, negative or image numbers and the links to digital items appear in the One Search catalogue record.

Use of eresources is governed by licence agreements between vendors or publishers and State Library of Queensland. You must comply with the terms and conditions of the licences.

Some eresources allow use for business, commercial or work-related purposes, including classroom teaching, but other eresources are limited to use for private research and study purposes, and only by residents of Queensland.

A link to the One Search catalogue, but not to individual eresources, may be placed on a school website. Users must be individually registered library members and use is not transferable to others.

A limited amount of copying or reproducing of material from eresources is usually permitted for private research and study purposes. Please check the terms and conditions of individual eresources before use.

Images from State Library of Queensland’s collection that are part of The Commons on Flickr are marked ‘no known copyright restrictions’. This indicates that State Library is not aware of any current copyright restrictions on these works. The term of copyright may have expired, or no evidence may have been found that copyright restrictions apply.

Images shared on The Commons are for personal research and enjoyment. State Library does not guarantee that use of the images will not infringe upon the rights of third parties, as yet unknown, who may own rights to these works. It is the user’s responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright and other use restrictions that may apply to these works.

Cover images of books and other publications in the One Search catalogue are either digital items in the collection or provided via an external link to Syndetic Solutions, a catalogue enrichment service provided by ProQuest. Cover images of digitised items in the collections may be used according to the exceptions in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). See the Copyright information for clients guide for more information about exceptions.

All rights in images provided via Syndetic Solutions are reserved by the original copyright owners. However, you may copy or use cover images for personal, reference, scholarly, educational or other non-commercial purposes. For all other uses you must contact the copyright owner for permission. Contact Syndetic Solutions for assistance.