Permissions & Copyright
About
The Museum of Comparative Zoology encourages the reproduction of museum material in scholarly and general publications as a means of broadening accessibility to researchers and the public. There are several different use cases for reproduction such as non-commercial use, commercial use, media made by requestor, and artistic rendering. See below for more details.
The MCZ retains the copyright to papers published by the MCZ, and all original media is ©President and Fellows of Harvard College. This includes images on film, digital media, or other media made by or on behalf of the requestor.
By accessing the Museum's website and database interface (MCZbase), you agree to abide by the terms outlined in this User Agreement. This agreement governs your use of MCZ's content, data, and tools, and is intended to promote responsible and ethical engagement with scientific information. Whether you're a researcher, educator, student, or enthusiast, we ask that you respect the integrity of the materials and the community built around them. Please review this agreement carefully before using the platform.
Non-commercial use of MCZ media is allowed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike license as long as the user:
- gives appropriate credit to the MCZ (credit line should read: Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College)
- provides a link to the license
- indicates if changes were made
The MCZ tracks the use of its specimens and asks that publications including MCZ media should be sent to the appropriate departmental collection.
Permissions for reproduction of MCZ materials for commercial purposes must be obtained in advance and are for one-time use only and subject to a fee.
To request permission to use MCZ copyrighted materials, such as photographs, video, and 3D scans taken of a specimen or publication images and figures, please fill out the Reproduction Request for Commercial Use form and email Melissa Aja.
A general condition of MCZ specimen use is that all resulting media is ©President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copies of images and other media, which should include the associated metadata, must be provided to the appropriate MCZ collection department for inclusion on MCZbase and/or archiving. The MCZ provides a set of guidelines for all such media use and the associated metadata.
For artists who are producing a unique work that is based on incorporated objects of MCZ copyrighted material, an addendum broadening the copyright permissions may be considered. This consideration is determined solely by the MCZ.