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Copyright in
Medical Communications

Welcome to our community, where CCC has gathered a collection of educational resources and industry insights related to the reuse of published content in medical communications projects.

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Industry Insights

In-the-field professionals share their perspectives on common copyright and compliance challenges in medical communications.

Q: What are the top challenges medical affairs teams face when searching for and leveraging content? 

CCC recently moderated a panel discussion on best practices and strategies for Medical Affairs teams when acquiring, managing, and disseminating scientific articles and other content to internal stakeholders, as well as sharing content externally, in ways that are copyright compliant. One of the panelists, Sarah Guadagno, Ph.D., the Founder/Principal of 8X Life Science Communications, shared the following insights.  

The first challenge is navigating copyright permissions. “How can I reuse and share scientific information publicly, from the published literature?” is one of the biggest questions. Medical affairs team members often indicate that getting copyright permission and sharing literature can be a challenge and can be an impediment to their work. The second one is efficiently searching for and discovering relevant content, building search terms, figuring out where to search for something, getting relevant results back, etc. The last one is analyzing and synthesizing literature into actionable insights and formats that you can then share internally.  

 Challenges related to search range from “I have to go to lots of different sites and places to search for things,” or “I don’t know exactly how to write a search query that actually reflects what exactly I’m looking for.” When faced with these questions, it’s common for medical affairs professionals to rely on colleagues and even vendors for help if the organization has a tool for organizing literature.   

If your organization does have such a tool, I recommend cultivating a group of super users. This approach helps get people on board with a platform and using it effectively. Sper users will be the ones who know the ins-and-outs of the tool the company has in place, and they can help team members. They’re your built-in experts.  

You can watch a recording of the full Enhancing Collaboration: Streamlining Access to Scientific Literature for Medical Affairs Teams session with Sarah Guadagno and panelist Cassie Singleton, Director, Medical Information, Becton Dickinson (BD) here on the MAPS (Medical Affairs Professional Society) website.  

20 August 2025

Industry Insights is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal or other professional advice. If you have legal questions, please consult your own legal counsel. Also note that the opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of CCC or its affiliates and may be specific to a particular jurisdiction. The content on this page is provided “as is” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

I recently started using CCC’s Marketplace to manage my client’s more complex permissions projects. I know the project features on the site could help me and my team be more efficient when it comes to submitting and managing requests, but I’m stumbling a bit on how to use the tools. Can you share some tips?

Robert Gaggin, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Information and Content Solutions at CCC shares his insights below.

The CCC team introduced project features on Marketplace to help you manage and share details of complex permissions projects with internal teams and clients. for support on how to manage your permissions projects in Marketplace, I would encourage you and your colleagues to watch this video or read this guide. These resources and more are available on the Marketplace Resource Center.  If you need additional assistance, please take advantage of the Live Chat feature in Marketplace. You can also contact the Marketplace team at support@copyright.com.

6 August 2025

It’s not clear to me if making minor changes, such as changing a color in a chart, requires that we check for permission. For example, when we don’t copy paste a table from a publication but rather recreate the table with color changes, do I need to check for permission?

For her perspective on this question, CCC reached out to Elizabeth Jennings, a medical communications professional with over 20 years’ experience ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework governing the pharmaceutical industry. 

When it comes to reusing a previously published chart, table or graph (often referred to as ‘standards’), first consult the copyright terms and conditions (T&C) to determine the copyright owner and locate information about the type of permission that applies to reuse of the standard. A thorough read of the T&Cs should make clear what you are and are not free to do with the standard, and who you need to contact if permission is required. When reusing standards, it is best practice not to make assumptions about what you can alter when reproducing the standard. Rightsholders, including journal publishers and congress bodies, often set strict guidelines to protect the copyright owner and the integrity of the standard. Making what you may consider a ‘minor change’ could be viewed by the rightsholder as a significant unauthorized change that breaches their T&Cs. Always check permissions with the rightsholder and be sure to allow enough time to provide all the information they may need to make a licensing decision. It’s also best to consider alternative solutions while you project manage your permissions in case you need a change of plan. 

30 July 2025

If I secure permission from a rightsholder to reuse a figure in a conference presentation, do I also need to get permission to later include that presentation in an internal training deck?

Erin Callahan, Senior Director, Information and Content Solutions at CCC, shares her thoughts on this question below.

It’s important to remember that different uses of a work correspond to different rights and each can have a different impact. The rightsholder may make different licensing decisions based on the specific permission requested. In the example you noted, it’s possible the rightsholder may grant permission to include a figure in a presentation but not to include the figure in an internal training slide deck. With that in mind, you  may want to  request permission for the additional reuse noted in your question.  

23 July 2025

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CCC eBook 

Guide to Understanding Copyright and Content Reuse in Medical Communications

This detailed guide was created by CCC to offer information on copyright law, both U.S. and internationally, insights into the basics of copyright ownership, what is and isn’t protected by U.S. copyright law, and strategies for evaluating companies’ copyright compliance and making informed decisions about everyday content reuse.

Download now

CCC Marketplace

A Single Destination for Your Copyright Permissions, Content, and Reprints Needs

CCC Marketplace is an e-commerce site with more than 175 million searchable works from thousands of leading STM publishers and societies. Marketplace allows you to get permissions faster, purchase content, and request reprints without having to navigate multiple publisher websites and unique workflows.

You can also search, order, and manage multiple permissions requests at once and manage your invoices and payments in a single system using Marketplace’s project workflow tools.

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