Copyright Mystery Home
  • Home
    • » Keep it Legal

Keep It Legal

In order to use more of copyrighted material than Fair Use permits, you must get permission from the copyright owner. Before you go any further, see if your campus has a Copyright Officer. This person can tell you about campus policies and resources to help get copyright permission. There are two ways to get permission:

  1. Contact the Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com/) and let them do the work. There is a fee involved. (Ask your campus Copyright Officer if your school already has an account set up.)
  2. Contact the author personally and ask for permission. This may involve a fee. You will first have to determine who holds the copyright.
  3. If the work is a book, look in the front pages. There will be a statement of copyright.
  4. If it's a journal article, look in the front of the journal to see if you can determine who owns the rights - the authors or the journal. (Your local librarian can help with this.)
  5. Next, determine how to contact them. This is where the real detective work comes in.

    • Journal and book publishers usually print their contact information in the front of the work. If not, do an internet search for them.
    • An internet search will usually help you find an author. If they list a school or business, search for that. If you can't find anything, contact the publisher for an address.

    Next, learn how to request permission from the copyright owner

    << Back Next >>

updated: 8/15/11