Southampton Archives copyright guidelines

This is a guide to copyright on items held within Southampton’s Archives, Local Studies and Maritime Library. Copyright ownership is complex. If you want to copy, or use in other ways, a copyright work, the permission of the copyright holder needs to be obtained.

Our Local Studies and Maritime Library holds published works, which in the majority of cases copyright expires on the 1st January following the 70th year after the death of the author.

The Archives hold mostly unpublished works which remain in copyright, no matter how old they are. Under UK law virtually all archives are in copyright until 31st December 2039.

Exceptions are in place which allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of the copyright holder. Under ‘fair dealing’ principles you can copy limited extracts for non-commercial research or private study. Please note we will ask for a copyright declaration to be completed before copying is commenced.

In certain circumstances specific documents are subject to their own restrictions and copying may not be possible due to various reasons. These include statutory, sensitivity of content (GDPR), condition or size of document. We will endeavour to provide an alternative method of access, however please be aware that this may not always be possible.

If you use documents copied from Southampton’s Archives, Local Studies and Maritime Library’s resources (whether in physical or electronic format) for purposes other than private study and research you are likely to be responsible for any infringement. Especially if you use them for commercial purposes which result in a financial loss for the copyright holder.

When citing or quoting from our Archive documents, photographic or image collections please refer to the source as instructed at the time.

Please note that the following is our current understanding of the law on copyright. We cannot give legal advice; you act at your own risk.

Copying material for commercial purposes

If you want to use a copy of something we hold in a publication, exhibition, display on a website, a presentation or for any other commercial purpose, you need to contact us for a reprographic licence and associated fees.

Disclaimer: Neither any guidance offered by any member of staff of Southampton’s Archives, Local Studies and Maritime Library nor these guidelines constitute legal advice. This guidance covers UK law only and aims to simplify a complex subject.