The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293) and other relevant regulatory issuances govern the use and/or reproduction of copyrighted material, including but not limited to photocopies and scans (whether whole or in part). For purposes of fair use, libraries or archives are authorized to make reproductions of copyrighted material for as long as such reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a researcher uses a reproduction in excess of “fair use” without permission from the copyright holder, that researcher shall be prosecuted for copyright infringement, without prejudice to any other actions and/or remedies under prevailing law. The FVR Legacy may, as it hereby reserves its right to, refuse to accept any reproduction request if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
All materials (photographs, videos, and documents) in the Fidel V. Ramos Presidential Library archival collection have been duly declassified. Through the course of time and prior to the development of the Presidential Library, some documents, videos, and photographs were lent to individuals — researchers and writers alike — who, in turn, published these in the context of biographical accounts and essays on the President, absent proper citations and provenance. However, the Presidential Library maintains copyright ownership of these materials. Copyright status of all materials in the Archival Collection tends to belong in any of these categories:
Ramos Family archives: Documents, videos and photographs belonging to the Ramos family are properly identified and cited as such. President Ramos maintained a personal file of his body of works, materials and references received and/or acquired during his lifetime. Materials in this voluminous repository were digitized and filed in preparation, among others, for the online Presidential library. Researchers are encouraged to address their request for permission to use or request for copies of materials belonging to this category from the Administrator of the FVR Presidential Library. It is the researcher’s responsibility to ensure that necessary permissions are secured in writing prior to publishing materials from our holdings.
Public domain: These are records — documents, videos and photographs — created by government employees in the course of their official work, automatically placing the materials in the public domain. Materials provided or sourced from The Presidential Broadcast Staff-Radio TV Malacañang, Photo Section, and Records Section of the Office of the President. Proclamations and Republic Acts, Memorandum Circulars and Orders, including related official documents are sourced from The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines, the official journal of the Republic of the Philippines. In other cases, the donor of the physical materials also donated copyright of protected materials within the collection, placing those items in the public domain.
Known third-party copyright: Examples of copyrighted material in our collection include research papers and presentations, sections of books and reports, newspaper articles/cartoons, photographs, and videos/films created by individuals other than those owned by the Ramos family or those donated/given. In these cases, copyright remains with the creator (or their designated heirs) whether the work was published or not. It is strongly advised that researchers seek written permission from the copyright holder to publish known copyrighted material.
Copyright unknown: The Presidential library may contain orphan works and materials that are not properly documented — whether the provenance is uncertain, the creator remains unknown despite diligent search, or the creator, absent succession, no longer exists. Researchers are encouraged to conduct due diligence in determining the copyright status of these materials, and those who publish these materials do so at their own risk.
