Copyright at the Fund

The IMF Library negotiates licenses with commercial data vendors and other sources to meet the data and information needs of Fund staff. 

Having a license does not mean the IMF owns the content. A license is equivalent to a permission to use the content according to the terms of the license. Think of it as renting rather than owning. 

Make sure you understand:

• Who the authorized users are.
• How you can use particular data or content.

Find out more below, and also in the Sharing Content Safely section. 

Can all IMF users use all licensed content?

Unfortunately, no. Licensing all Fund staff is typically more expensive than covering just the employees who need to use the license and the budget is not always available to cover licensing beyond the immediate need.

You need to know if you are an authorized user. You also need to know what uses are permitted. 

For data licensed by the IMF Library, consult the Copyright Terms and Conditions for permitted use of each data service.