The National institute of Corrections reserves the right to reproduce, publish, translate, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to publish and use all or part of the copyrighted material contained in this publication for any federal government purposes. Parties other than NIC are not authorized to sell or use these copyrighted materials for commercial gain except with the explicit permission of the authors.

Guidelines for Developing a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council   accession number 033615.

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The National Institute of Corrections houses thousands of publications and creative works in its extensive online library and still hundreds more at the National Correctional Academy in Aurora, Colorado. As a service to the American public, NIC makes these items available free of charge. When an agency or organization requests permission to use an NIC publication (or broadcast, video, etc.), the laws of public domain govern whether NIC is able to grant permission.

Public Domain

Items under public domain include, among other works, most items produced by the federal government. It includes the publications, broadcasts, videos, training materials, and courses produced by the National Institute of Corrections. Written requests for permission are not required for most cases. In these instances, NIC asks simply that you provide either citation or acknowledgement of the National Institute of Corrections and its work in the training material or other product you are producing.

Copyrighted Materials

While most NIC documents do fall under public domain, some documents do require formal, written copyright permission for use and distribution. The most common of these is when the materials are for use by organizations and individuals outside of the United States or when NIC has granted copyright permission to a contractor where a request to assert copyright has been made in writing. Copyrighted works will include notice of copyright in a prominent location, usually in the front matter for most publications. In these instances, NIC asks that you request permission in writing. Send your request to the NIC Writer/Editor. Your request should include:

• The NIC work (publication, broadcast, etc.) that you would like to use
• Your name
• Your agency
• Your mailing address
• Your intended purpose for using the work

NIC will review your request and get back to you with a response. Permission to translate NIC works from English into French or other language is usually granted in the same manner.

Written Documentation

Sometimes, an organization will require notice in writing that NIC materials are works of public domain or that permission to reproduce or disseminate the work has been granted. NIC can provide letters to those organizations upon request. Please see the section titled Copyright Materials for instruction on what to include in your request letter. Once received, your letter will be reviewed and NIC will get back to you with a response. Please note, however, that if you are requesting the use of NIC materials in an item for purchase, NIC already makes its materials available via the Internet in PDF form, in print by request, and increasingly as .epub files for access on most tablets and e-readers. NIC information is already readily available to the public at no charge.

More Information

For more information about the permission to use NIC materials, please check back often. This page will be updated periodically as new resources become available. In addition, please review the following: Rights in Data -- General Legal clause used in solicitations and contracts U.S. Code, Title 17, Chapter 4: Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration Legal citation of and requirements regarding display of copyright notice.

The National Institute of Corrections is a federal agency established to provide assistance to strengthen state and local correctional agencies by creating more effective, humane, safe, and just correctional services.
The content development for this microsite was funded under cooperative agreement 19CS07GLB0 from the Community Services Division of the National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice. The content and materials represent points of view or opinions of the presenters/facilitators and do not necessarily represent the official opinion or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.