Policies

Scope and Acknowledgment

By accessing and viewing the Grateful Dead Archive Online (GDAO), you signify agreement with the following terms of use, acknowledgments, and policies.

The Grateful Dead Archive (GDA) is a large collection, over 600 linear feet, containing a variety of formats created, received, gifted, purchased or otherwise lawfully acquired and retained over a period of 30 years (1965-1995) by the Grateful Dead Productions, Inc. (GDP) and gifted to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). Over 45,000 items in the collection were selected and digitized for display on the online archive GDAO. Over time, additional items, provided by other individuals or entities, including user submitted content, will be incorporated and displayed to build the socially constructed online collection.

Copyright and Trademarks

Just as the variety and format of donated materials varies widely, so does available information concerning the origin and copyright ownership of the materials in the archive. While physical ownership of materials donated by GDP has been transferred to the Regents of the University of California, specifically the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Library's Special Collections, no copyright or intellectual property rights held by GDP have been transferred to the University. Additionally, many of the materials within the archive contain Grateful Dead or other trademarks. All Grateful Dead trademarks are managed by Rhino Records, Inc; no use of the trademarks is allowed without permission.

Status of works on our site

Items from the Grateful Dead Archive (GDA) have been added to GDAO by the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Library only when we have received permission, we have determined a work to be in the public domain, or we believe the way we have posted the item to be fair use as part of a non-commercial, educational site. Fair use is a legal term with a very specific meaning, not just what a person thinks sounds "fair." Please see this list of common misunderstandings of fair use to learn more.

The items represent the individual and collective creativity of the band, artists, photographers and fans. Highly valuing the creative works in the collection donated by the GDP, we have labored diligently to identify, locate and contact rights holders informing them of our intentions to support scholarship and our desires to license their works non-exclusively for nonprofit educational, scholarly or private uses. The results of this search for potential rights holders are incorporated in the metadata accompanying each work displayed. The Copyright Information and/or Copyright Statements displayed, including public domain status, are based on a diligent, good faith, and reasonable research and analysis of each work.

Despite significant and reasonable efforts, in some cases it has proved impossible to identify and make contact with rights holders. In some cases, we are surfacing the works on GDAO amongst the community to facilitate contact with rights holders who remain undiscoverable. If you have additional or conflicting information about an item you see in GDAO, including information about the copyright holder, please contact us at grateful@ucsc.edu and let us know. GDAO is a project of the UCSC Library and UCSC Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notification information for UCSC can be found on Information Technology Services web pages.

Using things from the site

Unless the copyright status of an item on GDAO is Public Domain, the item is protected by copyright law. Many user-contributed items are licensed under a Creative Commons license, which allows you to use the item in various ways without contacting the copyright holder for permission. If an item is not in the public domain and does not have a Creative Commons license, any uses that do not meet with the requirements of fair use under copyright law must be cleared with the copyright holder. All users of the GDAO assume full responsibility for their use of archive materials, including obtaining any necessary permission from the copyright and/or trademark holders.

The UCSC Library maintains a database of copyright holders for GDAO that users may search in order to contact rights holders for requests to use their work. When the UC Regents hold copyright, contact UCSC Library Special Collections at grateful@ucsc.edu regarding permission to use. For guidance regarding reproducing and publishing Special Collections materials, please see Policy on Duplicating, Reproducing and Publishing of Special Collections.

Contributing to GDAO

GDAO values and respects the work and artistry of the numerous artists who have created illustrations, photographs, and other work related to the Grateful Dead. We require that our members do as well, by only contributing files they own the rights to, have permission to add, or honestly believe to be fair use. Fair use is a legal term with a very specific meaning, not just what a person thinks sounds "fair." Please see this list of common misunderstandings of fair use to learn more. Additionally, when users submit content as part of the socially constructed website, we require they select a license and identify themselves as the rights holder or alternatively indicate if the contribution is in compliance with fair use doctrine.

When you contribute a file, you hereby release and covenant not to sue the University of California, and its officers, employees and agents from any and all claims and demands arising out of or in connection with my use of the Grateful Dead Archive Online (GDAO) and any contributions I make to the GDAO, including but not limited to any claims for copyright infringement, defamation, invasion of privacy, or right of publicity.

This is a socially constructed archive, and as such, UCSC and the Grateful Dead Archive make no claims regarding the authenticity or accuracy of user-contributed materials or comments. Users must assume responsibility for verifying all user-contributed materials and/or remarks before citation and any use.

To contribute a file, information (including technical requirements) can be found at GDAO User Contribution.

Privacy

As a component of the University of California at Santa Cruz, the GDA is governed by the University's Privacy Policies. Contributing to the site requires a valid e-mail address. GDAO will not share your e-mail address with anyone or use it to send you spam. To upload a file, information can be found at GDAO User Contribution.