The information contained in this section provides a general overview of the ways to obtain lawful copyright permission. Every organization should have a comprehensive policy for copyright compliance, which includes detailed procedures for obtaining copyright permission that are specific to its business and usage needs.

In general, when using the work of others you must first determine if copyright permission is required. If the work is covered under copyright law (see chart in Copyright 101), is not in the public domain and does not meet the criteria for fair use, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holder in order to re-use the work.

You may need to obtain copyright permission to: Provide document fulfillment services to clients. Submit federal government filings. Conduct interlibrary loan. Link to third-party content from your Web site. Post third-party content on an electronic bulletin board, Internet or intranet site. Reproduce or forward messages from listservs, bulletin boards and newsgroups. Republish third-party content – an article in a textbook, manual, newsletter, CD ROM, presentation, advertisement, etc. Re-use third-party content externally – investor “road show,” training another company’s employees, trade show handouts, direct mail, annual report, company newsletter, etc. Re-use third-party content internally – employee distribution, product research, in-house employee meeting, employee training, etc. Scan third-party content.

Once the need for permission is identified, there are two primary options for obtaining permission to use the work—contact the copyright holder directly or utilize Copyright Clearance Center’s permission services.

Contacting each copyright holder directly for every copyright permission you need can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. For most print and online publications, the publisher is most often the copyright holder. If you cannot identify the copyright holder for the material you want to use, you may have to request a search by the U.S. Copyright Office. The Copyright Office can search only those works that have been registered. However, as discussed in Copyright 101, registration is not a requirement for copyright protection. When requesting copyright permission it is important to note that a lack of response from the copyright holder does not, under U.S. law, convey permission. In addition, some works may contain materials—text, images and graphics—from multiple copyright holders and may require separate authorization from each one.

Alternatively, Copyright Clearance Center provides a streamlined and efficient way to obtain copyright permission, whether for a printed or electronic text work. As the world’s premier copyright licensing agent and compliance solutions provider, Copyright Clearance Center can often provide instant authorization for the re-use of copyright-protected information.

Learn more about Copyright Clearance Center and its services.

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