Introduction

This appendix reproduces the British Library's version of the copyright permission documents used by the UK Web Archiving Consortium, which are reproduced by permission of UKWAC and the British Library. They are intended to provide an example of the types of form required for securing permissions to archive web resources from website owners. It comprises a covering letter to the website owner, the copyright licence form itself and a set of frequently asked questions.

Permissions letter

Dear Sir/Madam,

WEBSITE TITLE

The British Library is a founding member of the UK Web Archiving Consortium (www.webarchive.org.uk) consisting of the British Library, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee), The National Archives, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales and the Wellcome Library. The Consortium is undertaking a two-year pilot project to determine the long-term feasibility of archiving selected websites.

The British Library would like to invite you to participate in this pilot project by archiving your website under the terms of the appended licence. We select sites to represent aspects of UK documentary heritage and, as a result, they will remain available to researchers in the future. If the pilot is successful the archived copy of your website will subsequently form part of our permanent collections.

There are some benefits to you as a website owner in having your publication archived by the Consortium. If you grant us a licence, the Consortium will aim to take the necessary preservation action to keep your publication accessible as hardware and software changes over time.

If you are not the sole copyright owner please pass this request on to the other copyright owners. If you give the British Library permission to copy and archive your website we will store its contents electronically on a server owned by the UK Web Archiving Consortium. We will also seek to take the necessary action to maintain its accessibility over time and ensure its future integrity. Permission to archive pertains only to the website specified in this e-mail.

Please note that the Consortium reserves the right to take down any material from the archived site which, in its reasonable opinion, either infringes copyright or any other intellectual property right or is likely to be illegal.