Permissions and Copyright When Buying a Historical Image | Wisconsin Historical Society

General Information

Terms of Use for Historical Images

Defining Permission, Copyright and Terms of Use

Permissions and Copyright When Buying a Historical Image | Wisconsin Historical Society

Please read the following before purchasing a historic image for personal or commercial/non-profit use.

Terms of Use for Historical Images

When you complete the purchase of a Wisconsin Historical Image you agree to these terms of use:

  1. You agree to accept all legal responsibility for questions of copyright, literary rights or invasion of privacy that may arise from copying or making use of the image(s).
  2. You agree not to sell, publish, share, reproduce, publicly display, broadcast or redistribute the image(s) in any format without first obtaining written permission from the Wisconsin Historical Society and paying a permission fee.
  3. You agree you will not copy the image(s) in any form or by any means, including making prints from digital files, nor will you allow others to do so.
  4. You acknowledge that digital files are not offered for the purpose of making prints.
  5. You acknowledge that images are not cropped in printing unless cropping is requested. The original image may not be proportional to the standard size ordered, which may result in the print size being different than the size ordered. The image will be printed as close as possible to the size ordered.
  6. You agree to pay all costs in advance of receiving the image.

Copyright

The Wisconsin Historical Society does not own the copyright to many images in its collections. Copyright restrictions are noted in the image record on our website. The Society licenses images according to the terms set forth by the image donor. For more information on copyright, consult the U.S. Copyright Office publications.

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Have Questions?

Contact the WHI Business Manager, by email at:

You can also communicate by mail:

Wisconsin Historical Society
Attn: Lisa Marine, WHI Business Manager
816 State Street, Room 407
Madison, WI 53706-1482