Museum policy · Effective July 2026
Deaccession & Takedown
CLIPARCHIVE is a working museum of consumer clip art, 1980s–early 2000s — material recovered from circulating CD-ROMs whose publishers have, in most cases, dissolved, merged, or otherwise left the historical record. We collect, catalogue, and display this material as vernacular design history, with its provenance stated on every object page: source disc, publisher, year, and original file path.
We recognise that rights in this material may survive its publishers. If you hold rights in something on display here and want it removed, this page is the mechanism. You do not need a lawyer, a form, or a DMCA notice — an email identifying the material is enough.
What we remove, and how fast
- Within 48 hours of a verified request we remove the identified material from display and from sale.
- Removal operates at whatever scope you ask for: a single object, a full collection (one source disc), or any product that reproduces the material.
- When one image exists in the archive as multiple catalogued duplicates (the era's publishers resold the same art across products), a removal request covers every copy of that image, not just the accession number you cite.
- Removed objects are deaccessioned, not hidden: the catalogue records that an object was withdrawn, without displaying it.
How to file a request
Write to takedown@cliparchive.org with:
- the accession number(s), collection, or product concerned — links to the pages are ideal;
- who you are and the basis of your rights (a sentence is fine);
- a way to reach you if we have questions.
What happens next
- We acknowledge receipt.
- We verify the request identifies material actually on display.
- We remove it — display, downloads, and sale — within 48 hours of verification, across all duplicate copies.
- We confirm the removal to you in writing.
This policy applies to everything the museum operates: the open storage, exhibits, drops, downloads, and any gift-shop reproduction. Complaints are handled in good faith and without argument — the archive's purpose is preservation, and a publisher or artist asserting their rights is part of the historical record too.
CLIPARCHIVE · Vancouver, BC · takedown@cliparchive.org