Glad you found some useful materials in the Texas A&M OAKTrust Digital Repository. The items come from a variety of sources both in and outside of Texas A&M and each has a particular copyright status. For that reason, it is important to keep in mind the following points before starting a process to request permission for your re-use.
- Is the item protected by copyright?
Not all copyrighted items carry a copyright notice, but you may find information about the copyright status of the item by checking the 'Rights' field in the Item Metadata.
- Who is the copyright owner?
Permission to use a copyrighted item may only be granted by the rights holder. In cases where the creator, author, or photographer transferred her rights to another party, she may not own the copyright anymore, and therefore is not eligible to grant permission for re-use (examples would be a publisher or a music recording company).
- Do you need permission for your re-use?
If your use fits within the Fair Use exception in US Copyright Law, permission does not come from the copyright owner. In essence, the permission for re-use comes from the copyright statute itself. Columbia University Libraries has an excellent page on Copyright and Fair Use.
- Please keep in mind that the Libraries are neither permitted nor qualified to give you legal advice concerning your re-use of copyrighted materials. We are always happy to provide copyright education or point you in the direction of some really helpful resources to make your own copyright decisions.