Please contact Kristina Hall at keden@hathitrust.org for information on how your institution can take part in this important work. Additional information is located on the page Participating in Copyright Projects.
Background of the Copyright Program
The Copyright Review Management System (CRMS) has enabled large-scale, distributed investigations into the copyright status of works in the HathiTrust collection. Since 2008, over 195 reviewers at 53 institutions have reviewed 900,000 items, determining that more than 509,000 are no longer protected by copyright and have entered the public domain.
The program has been a stellar example of cooperative action to address a significant problem: the lack of knowledge that we have about the copyright status of our collective collections. In addition to making large numbers of books openly viewable, the program has developed a rigorous process for the investigation of copyright status, which can be used to model investigations of other content. In April 2016, the ALA recognized the program with the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award, which recognizes “contributions ... that demonstrate dedication to a balanced U.S. Copyright system through advocacy for a robust fair use doctrine and public domain.”
From 2008-2015, the CRMS program was generously funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences (IMLS) and managed by the University of Michigan Library Copyright Office. It is now operated by HathiTrust.
Copyright Review Program projects
US Monographs dated 1923-1963
Scope: Monographic works published in the United States between 1923 and 1963. Research involves looking for publication without copyright notice and/or absence of a renewal record. Beginning in 2019, we will also roll forward with the dates newly coming into the public domain and automatically move eligible publication dates into public domain shortly after January 1.
Publication Date project
Scope : Monographic and serial works suspected to be pre-1925 but not open in HathiTrust due to missing metadata or not meeting bibliographic determination algorithm requirements. Most commonly affected items are monographic series and pamphlets. The copyright review involves inspecting for or researching a publication date, and when an exact date is not known works will also be opened if a public domain general timeframe can be established. The project accepts any inquiry where a date can be determined. Foreign language and identical reprints of public domain works are included.
Commonwealth Crown Copyright government works (UK, Canada, Australia)
Scope : Government works published primarily in commonwealth countries, also called Crown copyright. This project will begin with three initial countries UK, Canada, and Australia. As we gain experience the candidate pool may be expanded to include government documents of India, South Africa, and New Zealand. The copyright inquiry involves determining whether the work is governmental and eligible for typically shorter copyright terms of government publication in commonwealth countries.
US State and Local Government Documents
Scope: Monographs published by US state and local governments in the years 1923-77. State government documents, unlike works of the U.S. federal government, are not by default public domain but rather receive protection under copyright law to the same degree as any other publication. However, if a state government published a work prior to 1978 and did not affix copyright notice, copyright protection for that work was lost and the work can be considered to have entered the public domain. Beginning in 2019, we will also roll forward with the dates newly coming into the public domain and automatically move eligible publication dates into public domain shortly after January 1.
Program staff
HathiTrust/University of Michigan copyright review team
- Kristina Hall, copyright review program manager
- Moses Hall, lead applications programmer
- Melissa Levine, legal specialist (UM Copyright Office)
Expert Reviewers
- Greg Nichols, University of Michigan
- Nicolle Nicastro, Penn State
- Rory Segety, University of MInnesota
- Jonah McAllister-Erickson, West Virginia University
- Renata Ewing, University of California Office of the President
Copyright reviewers and staff from institutional partners
Toolkit
Finding the Public Domain, published by Michigan Publishing in June 2016 with funding from IMLS, is a comprehensive guide to understanding CRMS methods and to aid others in implementing similar copyright projects. This toolkit provides a window into the collaboration, research methods and technology behind CRMS, and aims to share this transformative activity broadly. Finding the Public Domain is available for free as an e-book. Print copies, offered for sale on a cost recovery basis, are available through Amazon.
Grants
CRMS-US, IMLS National Leadership grant (2008-2011)
Scope: U.S. monographic publications, 1923-1963
The grant website is archived in Deep Blue at https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/139678
Final report to IMLS: February 15, 2012 (pdf)
CRMS-World, IMLS National Leadership grant (2011-2014)
Scope: U.S. monographic publications, 1923-1963 (cont’d from prior grant); UK monographs before 1943, Canadian/Australian monographs before 1963
The grant website is archived in Deep Blue at https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/139679
Final report to IMLS: December 2011 to November 30, 2015 (pdf)
CRMS-Toolkit, IMLS National Leadership grant (2014-2016)
Scope: UK monographs before 1943, Canadian/Australian monographs before 1963 (cont’d from prior grant); pilot review of non-serial U.S. state government documents 1923-1977; and publication of a toolkit for copyright review based on the CRMS model.
The grant website is archived in Deep Blue at https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/139679
Interim report to IMLS: December 2014 to November 30, 2015 (pdf)
Contact
Kristina Hall, Copyright Review Program Manager
keden@hathitrust.org