Copyright in
Medical Communications

The rightsholder’s legal team should determine, depending on the specific situation, how and what action may be taken as a next step (if anything) based on the organization’s policies. In certain scenarios, other teams such as Anti-Piracy departments may be brought in to assist in any resolution. 

When faced with these situations, I’ve worked with our legal team to determine the appropriate course of action. To help inform my discussion with the legal team, I provide relevant information about what I know of the situation, such as 

• Information about what original content that was reused 
• How the content was reused 
• Description of where, by whom, when and in what manner the content was reused 

I find that most often people want to do the right thing, and often a licensing solution may exist, and many publishers will be open to working with organizations or individuals to resolve concerns. From understanding how copyright exceptions or limitations apply to appreciating the differences in publication licenses, copyright can be complicated. Again, partnering with legal counsel is key when addressing these matters. Your organization’s enforcement strategy and policies should always guide your response. 

7 May 2025

CCC reached out to Leslie Lansman, Global Permissions Manager at Springer Nature, based in the UK, for her perspective on this reader question.  

If you see you or your organization’s content being reused without permission or being reused in a way that goes beyond the terms of any existing license, you should check with your legal team to determine their general policies and typical responses to handling these types of issues. 

Different companies have different policies in place and it’s important to work with your team to ensure a consistent approach. When you talk to your team, you’ll want to provide them with detailed and relevant information including specifically identifying and describing what content was reused, how you discovered the reuse, details on who reused the content (including information on any affiliated organization), and any other information you think may help explain what happened, how, and why. Screen shots, URL links, or other forms of confirmation regarding the reuse are all extremely helpful. Finally, it is advisable to raise such issues with your legal team as soon as you discover them so that any response may be undertaken in a timely manner. 

By working with your legal department, you help ensure that these types of problematic reuses are analyzed appropriately and handled in accordance with best practices.  

30 April 2025

Tracy Forrester, Manager, Reprint Operations at CCC, shares her perspective below.

A reprint is a professionally produced, commercial quality reprint of a complete scholarly published journal article. The journal article can be customized with a cover page, code or disclaimer, and may be black and white or color. Reprints are produced in bulk quantities and distributed for external use, often for promotional or marketing purposes. A permission request does not involve printing or delivery of material. A permission request is purely clearance of published material to be reused or shared to a wide audience. Permission requests usually stem from customers who would like to share or display a portion of an article, such as a figure, chart or image in a presentation to a large audience.

23 April 2025