Under the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, as amended by PL 94-553), effective 1 January 1978, the copyright to any writing, whatever its date of creation, is held by its author or his heirs or designated agent(s) for a period of the author's lifetime plus fifty years unless the material passes(d) into the public domain. The creator, or his heirs, of any material not under statutory copyright on 1 January 1978 and not in the public domain on that date, automatically holds copyright until 31 December 2002, and longer in certain instances. The practical effect of the Copyright Law to the researcher is that a serious attempt must be made to locate the holder of the copyright to both published and unpublished writings to obtain permission for publication.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or a reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

For more information, please see the official home page of the United States Copyright Office.