Intellectual Property

Question

Congratulations on the launch of the NSDL. It is certainly a well built and needed resource on the Internet. I am a web developer working with several educational online programs and I would like to know what the licensing issues are with the content contained in the NSDL? For instance can school kids use graphics from the library in class projects?

Answer

NSDL anticipates that school children (and others) will use resources found through our library for educational, research and non-commercial purposes, such as class projects. NSDL does not hold the actual resources themselves, but instead links to resources and web sites that may have their own terms of use, so resource users should review and comply with these terms. All resources discovered through NSDL must be used in a manner consistent with all applicable copyrights. The individual resources may range from public domain material to resources that may be used only within certain constraints established by copyright. A user is required to comply with these restrictions, which may require seeking permission directly from the copyright owner(s). The NSDL does not act on behalf of the copyright owners. Susan Jesuroga NSDL, Director of Project Relations