Licences and sources

Find Any Footage indexes only public archives whose records say a film is in the public domain, and it shows you that record for every shot. This page explains what that means and where its limits are.

Sources

• Prelinger Archives (Internet Archive)

  Educational, industrial, advertising and amateur films, mostly 1920s–1970s. We index only items whose archive record carries a public-domain licence link (creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain). The evidence shown for each film is that field, quoted.

• NASA Image and Video Library

  Launches, tests, spacecraft, astronauts, aircraft and Earth from space. NASA's own media is generally not subject to copyright in the United States. We leave out items that credit a third party, and launches filmed by commercial partners. NASA asks that its material is not used to imply endorsement.

Rules for what gets indexed

• Only the two sources above are indexed today. Wikimedia Commons (public domain and CC0 files only) and the US National Archives are next.
• Items without a clear public-domain record aren't indexed, even when they look old.
• Files licensed CC BY-SA aren't indexed: their share-alike condition would apply to your whole video.
• NASA produced features (explainers, news packages, This Week @NASA) can include licensed music and footage from partners. Their shots are marked “check rights” and clips are cut without sound.
• Animations and graphics are tagged, so you can ask for live footage only.

What “public domain” covers, and what it doesn't

A public-domain film can be copied, edited and used commercially without permission or payment. The archive's record is good evidence, but it isn't a guarantee: a film can include parts owned by others, such as a music track, a brand logo or a recognisable person, and rules differ outside the United States. For broadcast or advertising work, check with the archive or a clearance service. Our terms say this in full.

Credit lines

Public-domain footage doesn't legally require credit, but crediting the archive is good practice and helps you later. Ask Claude for credits with the shots you used, and paste the result into your video description.

If you get a Content ID claim

Some companies upload public-domain footage to YouTube and register it with Content ID, so your video can be claimed automatically even though the footage is free to use. A claim is not a strike, and it can be disputed:

1. In YouTube Studio, open the video's copyright claim and choose Dispute.
2. Pick “The content is in the public domain or not eligible for copyright protection”.
3. Explain where the footage comes from, with the film's title and archive link from your credits, and quote the licence evidence.
4. The claimant has 30 days to respond. Keep your credits, links and the clip files together in case they do.

Report a problem

If you hold rights in footage we index, or a licence record looks wrong, email legal@wikivec.com with the film's link. We take items out of the index while we check.