Access and use of electronic resources provided by the Law Library are governed by publisher license agreements. Most of these contracts allow students, staff, faculty, and walk-in patrons to read, download, and/or print electronic content for non-commercial, educational, or personal research purposes only. Users of library-licensed resources must comply with the terms of agreements and be aware that publishers may monitor use of electronic resources to enforce the terms of their licensing agreements. Violation of license may lead the University to impose on an individual the sanctions provided in UniReg 690 or a publisher or vendor to turn off the University's access without warning.
In order to assist library users to use the Law Library's electronic resources responsibly, we have summarized typical license provisions:
Details about acceptable use of electronic resources can be found on the resource's website under "Terms and Conditions." In cases where answers are not readily available or with questions regarding copyright law, contact the Electronic Services Librarian. Additional information regarding acceptable use of UW licensed resources is governed by University Regulation 690.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. 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 reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
