Welcome to the RightsStatements.org Rights Statement Selection Tool.

• BACKGROUND

• This is the Rights Statement Selection Tool, a decision tree that defines the selection of copyright status statements from RightsStatements.org and Creative Commons. The 12 standardized RightsStatements.org statements that can be used by cultural heritage institutions to communicate the copyright and re-use status of digital objects to the public. A screenreader-friendly version of this visual tool is embedded in the alt text, starting with Step 0. and ending with step 7. Step 8. lists related resources. Step 9. lists credits. The Selection Tool defines correct statement selection for items with a known copyright status, but does not help with the determination of copyright status (see step 8B for links to copyright status determination tools).

0.  Instructions:

Start with 1 in the numbered outline and work your way through the outline logic until you arrive at the correct RightsStatements.org statement or Creative Commons License.

• 1. Q: Was the year the Work was created >180 years ago?

• Yes, use Creative Commons Public Domain Mark. Stop. No, continue to 2.

• 2. Q: Is it a US Government Work?

• Yes, use NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. Stop. No, continue to 3.

• 3. Q: Was the copyright status of the Work investigated?

• You can use the Copyright Status determination tools to help you determine the copyright status” Hirtle Chart, Society of American Archivists Chart, or Sunstein Chart No, use COPYRIGHT NOT EVALUATED. Stop. Yes, continue to 4.

• 4. Q: Is the work in copyright?

• Yes, it’s in copyright. Continue to step 5. No, it’s not in copyright. Continue to step 6. The copyright status is ambiguous. Continue to step 7.

• 5. Work in Copyright. Q: Is the rightsholder identifiable?

• Yes, proceed to 5A. No, continue to 5B.

• 5A. Rightsholder identifiable/EU Orphan Works status

• Q: if the rightsholder isn’t identifiable, and the Work was made available under the EU Orphan Works Act, Use IN COPYRIGHT - EU ORPHAN WORK. Stop. If the rightsholder isn’t identifiable or it’s unclear, and the Work not made available under the EU Orphan Works Act. Use IN COPYRIGHT - RIGHTS-HOLDER(S) UNLOCATABLE OR UNIDENTIFIABLE. Stop.

• 5B. Q: Is your institution the rightsholder?

• Yes, continue to 5B1. No, continue to 5B2

• 5B1. Yes, my institution is the rightsholder.

• Q: Does the rightsholding institution waive all or part of their copyrights and related rights worldwide? Yes, proceed to 5c, Creative Commons. No, continue, select from 5B1I,5B1II, or 5B1III

• 5B1I- Rightsholding institution retains all rights but allows non-commercial use.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED. Stop.

• 5B1II- Rightsholding institution retains all rights but allows educational use.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED. Stop.

• 5B1III- Rightsholding institution retains all rights; only uses covered by Fair Use allowed.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT. Stop.

• 5B2 No, my institution is not the rightsholder, continue.

• 5B2I- The rightsholder has specified in a donation agreement or other contract that only non-commercial use is permitted.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE PERMITTED. Stop.

• 5B2II- The rightsholder has specified in a donation agreement or other contract that only educational use is permitted.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED. Stop.

• 5B2III- The Work has been acquired without input from the rightsholder, or via a contract that does not specify a type of use.

• Use IN COPYRIGHT. Stop.

• 5B2IV- A donation agreement or other contract allows for the application of a Creative Commons license.

• Proceed to 5C, Creative Commons.

• 5C1- Creative Commons.

• Q: Are only a portion of rights waived? Yes, Use the appropriate Creative Commons license. Use the Creative Commons ‘Which CC License is Right for Me?’ chart to help make this determination. Stop. No. All rights including attribution waived? Use CC0 Public Domain Dedication. Stop.

• 6. Not in Copyright/Public Domain

• 6A Q: Do usage restrictions apply nonetheless?

• No, use NO COPYRIGHT - UNITED STATES. Stop. Yes, continue to 6B.

• 6B Q: Are restrictions imposed via a contract?

• Yes, use NO COPYRIGHT - CONTRACTUAL RESTRICTIONS. Stop. No, continue to 6C.

• 6C Q: Are restrictions Imposed on commercial use via a public/private digitization partnership?

• Yes, use NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY. Stop. No, continue to 6D.

• 6D Q: Are restrictions Imposed because of other legal restrictions?

• Yes, use NO COPYRIGHT - OTHER KNOWN LEGAL RESTRICTIONS. Stop. No, continue.

• 7. Copyright status ambiguous

• 7A Q: Is the Work probably, but not definitely, in the public domain?

• Yes, use NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT. Stop. No or unclear, continue to 7B.

• 7B Q: Is the Work’s copyright status impossible to determine with the available information?

• Yes, use COPYRIGHT UNDETERMINED. Stop.

• 8. Appendix- related resources and tools

• 8A US Government works. To determine if your Work is a US government work, consult the following resources.

• 8A1 17 U.S.C. § 105 
• 8A2 The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices § 313.6(C)(1).

• 8B Copyright Status Determination Tools. To determine your item’s copyright status, use the following tools.

• 8B1- The Hirtle Chart
• 8B2- Society of American Archivists Chart
• 8B3- Sunstein Chart

• 9. Credits.

• © 2020, Gabriel Galson and Brandy Karl. This tool is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Chart designed by Gabriel Galson in consultation with Brandy Karl, and with input from Linda Ballinger and the PA Digital Rights Group. Chart structure based on the article ‘Providing Quality Rights Metadata for Digital Collections Through RightsStatements.org’ by Linda Ballinger, Brandy Karl, and Anastasia Chiu. Published by The Journal of Copyright in Education & Librarianship (https://doi.org/10.17161/jcel.v4i1.13228) and PA Digital (https://bit.ly/RightsTool).