Reproduction, citation and filming

Reproducing material

If you wish to share, publish or otherwise reproduce items from the British Empire & Commonwealth Collection (including for social media or commercial use), you will need to obtain our written permission.

Please contact archives@bristol.gov.uk with full details of how you intend to reproduce the material. Permission fees may apply (see below) and we cannot discuss requests by phone.

Creative Commons material: the only exceptions to this are collections we‘ve made available via the terms of a Creative Commons licence (e.g. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Any copies, printouts or photographs of material can otherwise be used only for private study or non-commercial research. We’ll ask you to complete a copyright declaration to confirm this.

Copyright

We do not own all of the documents in our collections or their copyright.

Where we don’t hold copyright, we will endeavour to provide any information we hold (within data protection restrictions) to assist with contacting the rights holder. However, it is your responsibility to identify the copyright owner(s) and gain their permission to reproduce material.

As we sometimes need to seek permission from the owners of material, we cannot always provide copies immediately.

Permission fees

We may charge for permission to publish copies of material in any format. To seek permission, you will need to provide us with the following information by email:

  • Publication language (English or multiple languages)
  • Territories (e.g. UK/world)
  • Length of licence needed (we do not offer exclusive or in perpetuity licences)
  • Type of publication (e.g. TV broadcast, DVD, academic/commercial/local history publication)
  • Expected print run (for physical items)
  • Whether your activity is commercial or non-commercial

Acknowledging and citing material

When quoting or using material from our collections, please reference each item as shown below. You may also need to include a copyright acknowledgement.

Academic citations: include our name, the item reference number, a description of the item and the date. For example:

  • Bristol Archives: British Empire & Commonwealth Collection, 1993/068/2: diaries compiled by Theresa Cunningham Knowles, 1955-1960

Print media: please credit us and provide the full item reference number in the following format:

  • Bristol Archives: British Empire & Commonwealth Collection, 1993/068/2

Film and television: please acknowledge 'Bristol Archives: British Empire & Commonwealth Collection' in your end credits (or when the item appears on screen if there are no end credits) and quote the item reference number if possible, as shown above.

Social media: please credit 'Bristol Archives: British Empire & Commonwealth Collection' and include the reference number or (ideally) a link to the entry on our online catalogue. On Twitter, please tag @bristolarchives or #EmpireCollection. On Facebook, please tag @Bristol Archives.

Images of objects: when quoting or using pictures of objects from our collections, please use the credit line ‘© Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives’.

Filming at Bristol Archives

If you wish to film at Bristol Archives, please contact us to discuss your requirements. Charges apply for staff time and use of material.

You may also need to obtain a filming permit via Bristol Film Office.