The following list describes materials that need to be investigated and may require permission from the copyright holder. Unless the material has a license where the use is permitted (e.g., Creative Commons license), is in the public domain, or is considered “fair” after a fair dealing analysis, you will need to seek permission. The following list is not exhaustive, and using other substantial amounts of copyright-protected work may require permission:

• Images, such as tables, figures, photographs, maps, illustrations, screenshots, etc. from any source, including those freely available online
• Adaptations (or altering) of images, such as tables, figures, photographs, maps, illustrations, screenshots, etc.
• Entire articles or book chapters, parts of articles or books, or other works that the student has previously published, including publications co-authored with others
• Long excerpts or quotations from any one source
• Testing instruments, such as surveys, questionnaires, validated tools, standardized tests, forms, etc.
• Scripts, recordings, or other fixations of a performance, such as audio or video clips
• Translations of copyright-protected work

You should keep track of materials as their work is being written. For various reasons, replies to permission requests may be quick or take a long time. It is important to begin asking for permissions as soon as possible and keep records of your interactions.

To figure out who to contact: 

1. Look for a copyright notice or statement on the work itself to identify the copyright owner of the material
2. The owner may be indicated alongside the material itself (e.g., photo caption or figure citation) or may appear elsewhere (e.g., first page of an article or footer of a website)
3. If you cannot find anything, look more broadly for copyright information on the website or database
4. If you are still struggling in finding any copyright information, DO NOT ASSUME that you are able to use the work. Contact the Copyright Office for help. 

Obtaining permission from commercial book or journal publisher

Copyright permission from commercial book and journal publishers may be obtained quickly using the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) or through a form or email contact on the publisher’s website. Start with the CCC and then try the publisher’s website if not available through the CCC. Keep a copy of the permission and follow the terms of use, including how to cite the material.

Obtaining permission from an individual or organization

Some copyright permissions may need to be requested from individuals, governments, or organizations. You will need to go to the work or website to determine who best to contact. You may need to try several different contact points (e.g., emails or phone numbers) to determine who to write to to obtain permission.

To obtain written permission, and see below for what to include in a permission email request. Follow any terms of use and keep a copy of the permission, including how to cite the material.

If you are having difficulties identifying the copyright owner or obtaining permission, please contact the Copyright Office for help. 

Please use the following templates as a basis for your copyright correspondence. Make sure you save all emails for future reference in case anyone calls the copyright permissions into question.