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All NISO standards are protected by copyright. NISO standards can be downloaded for free and and may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes without charge or license. If you want a hardcopy of a NISO standard, these can be purchased from Techstreet or if you need a license for commercial purposes, you can get rights these by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center.
While they are free to use, NISO standards and recommended practices cannot be translated, modified, redistributed, sold or repackaged in any form without the prior permission of NISO. We do this to maintain control over the release of normative consensus outputs. If there were to be a multiple number of OpenURL, or KBART, or JATS versions circulating, no one would know what is the current version or the right standard to adhere to. This is the reason we control distribution and republication of these consensus documents.
We are happy however to support his reuse, under the right circumstances. Please contact us and discuss what you have in mind. Inquiries regarding commercial reproduction and translation should be directed to: nisohq@niso.org
All NISO standards undergo a review and maintenance cycle. If a standard does not require revision it is Reaffirmed. For example, "R2001" following Z39.2 indicates that Z39.2 was Reaffirmed in 2001. When a standard is revised it is balloted and approved by the NISO Members and the approval year is added to the designation. For example, ANSI/NISO Z39.7-2004 was last approved in 2004.
Related international standards are noted. ISO standards can be purchased in hardcopy or electronic form from Techstreet.
