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Seeking permission to use other sources

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As an author, you are required to secure permission to reproduce any proprietary text, illustration, table, or other material, including data, audio, video, film stills, and screenshots, and any supplementary material you propose to submit.

This applies to direct reproduction as well as "derivative reproduction" (where you have created a new figure or table which derives substantially from a copyrighted source). The reproduction of short extracts of text, excluding poetry and song lyrics, for the purposes of criticism may be possible without formal permission on the basis that the quotation is reproduced accurately and full attribution is given.

Please note that publication in a journal is considered commercial use.

If you are requesting permission from a library or museum, they will want to know the following information:

• publication medium: print or electronic
• title, author, publisher, approximate print run of the publication (i.e. how many copies will be printed)
• distribution rights requested, i.e. North American rights, world rights
• language rights requested (i.e. the language your article will be published in).

If you do not have this information, please contact us and we can help you. You will need to allow several weeks for permission requests, so it is advisable to begin this process as early as possible.

The following sample letter can be used as a template in seeking permission:

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permission to reproduce text quotations from other sources?
As an author, you are required to secure permission to reproduce any proprietary material, including text. However, it is the custom and practice in academic publishing that short extracts of text (excluding, we emphasize, poetry and song lyrics) may be reproduced without formal permission, on the basis that:

• the purpose of quotation is objective and evidenced scholarly criticism;
• the quotation is reproduced accurately, either within quotation (“ ”) marks or as displayed (indented) text;
• full attribution is given.

What is the term of protection for copyright?
The length of time copyright persists varies between jurisdictions, but generally the term of protection for copyright is held to be at least 50 years after the death of the author. Many countries, including the U.K., U.S.A., and member nations of the E.U., hold the term to be 70 years after the death of the author. Thereafter, the work is held to be in the public domain.

Do I need permission even if I have redrawn figures?
Yes, redrawn versions of copyrighted illustrative material fall within the scope of "derivative copyright." You will need to check who owns the copyright for the original figure, and request permission to reuse the material. You may need to submit your own redrawn figure so that the rightsholder can confirm its accuracy.

Do I need permission if I have reused information and data from a table?
If you use a table that has been published in a previous work, or if you faithfully reproduce a section or piece of a table from a previous work, then you will need to check who owns the copyright for the original table and seek permission to reuse the data/material. If you have taken some data or information from a table in an original work and then used that data in conjunction with your own in a new table (as opposed to using the original table itself), then you do not need to seek permission for the use of the original table (as it is not strictly derivative use), but you will need to add the citation reference to the caption for the new table, acknowledging that the table includes data and figures previously presented in [source] and provide the citation in the references.

Do I need permission if I use an image from the Internet?
Yes, you will need to find out the status of the image and find out who owns the copyright (this may be the photographer, artist, agency, museum, or library). You will then need to get permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the image in a journal article. Taylor & Francis urge authors to exercise caution with any image downloaded from the Internet, e.g. from Wikipedia, Google, or FaceBook, where images are frequently posted without the knowledge or permission of the copyright holder, and are quickly removed if the copyright holder raises an objection. As your article will form the perpetual version of record, you will need to identify and confirm the actual copyright status of the image, and find out who owns the copyright. You will then need to get permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the image in a journal article, in all forms, in perpetuity, worldwide, on the basis that proper attribution and acknowledgment to the copyright holder will be given in the figure caption.

Do I need permission to reproduce the cover image of a book as part of a book review?
Yes. If you choose to include the cover image then permission from the book publisher will need to be sought. In addition, we recommend that the image used be of a high quality/resolution and that this image be sought directly from the book publisher when seeking permission to use the cover image. Please be aware that on some occasions the book cover may have additional third-party rights attached for images contained with it and thus the permissions for reuse may be restricted.

Do I need permission if I use material from my own work?
Yes, you will need to check who owns the copyright of the original work, and ask for permission to reuse the material. The original publisher will usually give you permission to reproduce your own work free of charge. If a license was agreed with the publisher in the first instance then permission will again be granted for free.

Do I need permission if I work for the company whose image I am using?
Yes, you will need to check who owns the copyright (this may be the publisher, author, institution, or organization), and ask for permission to reuse the material.

Do I need permission to use poems and songs?
Yes, permission should always be obtained. Please be aware that some poets will not allow changes to the layout of the poem or allow you to use a small number of lines. Poem fees are normally charged per line. With song lyrics you should be aware that even if you only use one line you may be charged the same price as you would for the complete song. Rightsholders for song lyrics require people intending to reproduce lyrics to apply for permission for each reuse, and a fee may be charged.

As an author, can I use screenshots or grabs of film or video in my article or take such images from the Internet?
You should always obtain written permission from the appropriate rightsholder for the reproduction of any proprietary audio, video, film stills, and screenshots. This includes those that can be taken from the Internet, e.g., from Wikipedia, Google, or FaceBook. We urge caution when sourcing images from the Internet, as these may have been posted without the permission of the rightsholder. You should be advised that many rightsholders (e.g., film and television companies) will charge fees and in certain cases there may also be additional fees payable to the actors featured in the images. In the same way as for stills, film clips and extracts of video should be used specifically within the context of the article for criticism or review. Each clip should be no longer than is necessary to illustrate the point made in the text. You should always provide full credits for the source of every image or clip.

Do I need permission to use very old paintings?
Yes, you should get permission from the artist and the owner. See www.dacs.org.uk/ for further help.

Do I need permission to use a photo if I know the person who has taken it?
Yes, you will need to check who owns the copyright, and ask for permission to reuse the material.

Do I need permission to use an image from Google Earth?
Please see www.google.com/permissions/geoguidelines.html

Do I need permission to use a picture that includes other people or a proprietary object?
Yes, you would need permission for both.

Can Taylor & Francis get permissions for me?
Permission to publish copyright material and to reproduce illustrations in print and online is the sole responsibility of the author.

Do I need permission if I use a Facebook screenshot?
Facebook screenshots may be used according to their guidelines but you will need prior written permission from Facebook.

Do I need permission to use an image from Flickr?
Yes. Flickr images may fall under a common usage license or may have all rights reserved.

Do I need permission to use an image from Yahoo?
If you are seeking permission to use any Yahoo! UK trademarks, logos, screen shots, copyrighted designs, or other brand features from the Yahoo! UK websites, please see http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/copyright.html

Do I need permission to use a crown copyright image?
Please see www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/copyright.htm for further guidance.

Do I need permission to use a Google N-Gram?
No, but please make sure that you cite Jean-Baptiste Michel, Yuan Kui Shen, Aviva Presser Aiden, Adrian Veres, Matthew K. Gray, The Google Books Team, Joseph P. Pickett, Dale Hoiberg, Dan Clancy, Peter Norvig, Jon Orwant, Steven Pinker, Martin A. Nowak, and Erez Lieberman Aiden. (2010) Quantitative analysis of culture using millions of digitized books. Science. Published Online Ahead of Print: 12/16/2010 DOI: 10.1126/science.1199644 www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2010/12/15/science.1199644

Do I need permission to use ClipArt?
Yes. The use of all Microsoft copyrighted content is subject to permission being given by Microsoft – see www.microsoft.com/About/Legal/EN/US/IntellectualProperty/Permissions/Default.aspx#ELC. Commercial reuse (for example, in an academic journal) may be prohibited.

What is the STM Agreement and how does it affect me with regard to seeking permissions?
Taylor & Francis is a member of the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM), and since 1979, signatory to the STM Permission Guidelines on the free and reciprocal exchange of text, figures, and tables. The guidelines state that "requests for small portions of text and a limited number of illustrations should be granted on a gratis basis for signatory participants, and further describe a more automatic process which eliminates the need for requests to be transmitted (some signatories have chosen this route, others continue to request express permission requests). The guidelines apply to both book and journal content, and facilitate reproduction of further editions or in other media such as in online form". The guidelines and list of participating publishers is at
www.stm-assoc.org/permissions-guidelines/

Do I need separate permission for an image that will appear on a journal cover?
Yes. Permission to use an image in your article does not necessarily extend to its use on the journal cover. Please ensure that you have specific permission to use an image on the cover, and let your production editor know of any attribution wording that is necessary.

Do I need permission to reproduce a survey questionnaire or psychometric scale?
Yes, you should request formal written permission from the author/creator/designer, and/or the rights holder - even where you are reproducing an extract. The rights holder may apply a reproduction fee, and will certainly advise on the correct attribution statement and form of license.

Further resources
This website gives more helpful information about finding copyright holders: http://tyler.hrc.utexas.edu/uk.cfm

Copyright permission fact sheet from UK Copyright Service.

Copyright Law: Understanding Fair Use fact sheet from UK Copyright Service.

Resources

Moira Donoghue is an experienced freelance permissions editor specializing in tracing and obtaining publishing permissions and licenses from copyright holders of texts and articles, music, lyrics, art, illustrations, photographs, figures and tables, websites and software. Reasonable rates offered.

Contact:
Email: author.assist@gmail.com
Website: www.author-assist.co.uk