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Permissions

Some Key Points About Permissions (not to be regarded as a complete guide to permissions)

  • Apply early
  • Keep a log
  • Request permission from the credited source
  • Need permission even if modified
  • New figures need original sketches
  • “Fair Use” allows some uses without permission, but it’s tricky
  • New tables created from data in copyrighted sources might require permission, but not always
  • Government materials often don’t require permission
  • Permission must be obtained to use material that is paraphrased, abridged, or condensed
  • Submit a permission request even for Morgan James copyrighted materials
  • All source and credit lines in your manuscript must read exactly as requested by the grantor

Written permission to reproduce text or art you did not create yourself is as necessary to your project as the manuscript and artwork. Begin requesting permissions as soon as you know that you intend to include copyrighted material from other sources. Do not wait until you have completed your manuscript, because permission sources are often slow to respond to inquiries. You are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions, as well as for paying any required fees.

Create a master permissions log (a multi-columned sheet) to keep track of everything for which permission may be needed. This is essential for tracking the status of permissions and ensuring that all permissions are obtained and their requirements complied with. This will also serve as the list of the items for which permission has been obtained that you must provide to your Author Relations Manager for Morgan James.

Where To Start

If the material you wish to use is from a book or other printed document, or an online source, the best place to start is with the publisher of that content. You will save a lot of time by calling the publisher or going to the Publisher’s website and getting the name of the person who handles permission requests, along with telephone and fax numbers and an e-mail address. Some publishers permit permission requests to be submitted online. When determining where to apply for permission, please note whether the material you want to use is credited to a source different than the one in which you found it. Photographs and illustrations in particular frequently appear with credit to another source. In such cases permission is required from the credited source. Contact information for that source can frequently be obtained from the publisher of the work in which you found the material.

Illustration Materials

All maps, charts, drawings, or photographs that you did not create yourself require permission unless they are in the public domain. Please make sure that the source and the copyright notice are clearly indicated on the permission form and that this source and copyright information is properly included in figure captions. Letters that explicitly permit reproduction of images, accompanying publicity or press kit photographs received from manufacturers or other sources may be substituted for letters of permission; submit them as part of your manuscript package.

Adapting or Modifying Figures

Minor adjustments to a figure (additions and deletions and so forth) do not eliminate the need to seek permission to use the figure and to modify it. The copyright holder should be told that you plan to modify the figure and may want to review and approve the adapted figure. Any citation indicating “Adapted From” or “Modified From” must be accompanied by a permission form signed by the copyright holder authorizing adaptation and reproduction of the figure.

Creating New Figures

New figures may be drawn from original sketches. An author may not submit a copyrighted figure belonging to someone else and ask the publisher to “draw something like this.” Consult your acquisition agent about ways to provide guidance for drawing new figures.

Fair-use doctrine

Although the safest course is to get permission before using any copyrighted material, under the doctrine of fair use a limited amount of material may be quoted without permission under certain circumstances. The U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 states:

107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use . . . the fair use of a copyrighted work . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, . . . scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include–

(1) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit or educational purposes;

(2) The nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole

(4) The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

There are no specific numeric guidelines that state how many words can be used under the fair use provision of the copyright law. The University of Chicago’s Manual of Style provides some good commonsense guidelines for what falls under “fair use.” Final responsibility for the use of copyrighted material belongs to you. If you have any doubt about the amount of material that can be used under the fair-use doctrine, request permission from the copyright holder.

Text material

Borrowed text, including tables, that is not in the public domain and does not fall under the fair-use doctrine requires permission, as do quotes from personal communications, interviews, questionnaires, and dissertations, regardless of length. With a table, source and copyright information should be placed at the bottom in a “Sources” note.

Creating Tables from Data

You may choose to create an original table using data from various sources. The source(s) of the data should be cited as “Data from” followed by the bibliographical information on the sources. However, you will need permission if your presentation of the data is substantially similar to the original source.

Public domain materials

Works that are not protected by copyright are said to be in the public domain. These include:

  • Works for which the copyright term has expired.
  • Works created by a federal government employee during the course of his/her employment.
  • Many U.S. Government publications.

Copyright term or duration under U.S. copyright law depends on when a work was created; it differs if the work was created after 1977, when our current copyright law came into effect, or before 1978, under previous copyright law. For works created prior to 1978, the copyright term is generally 95 years. Works published under our current copyright law, from 1978 onward, have a copyright term of the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.

Be cautious when determining whether a work’s copyright term has expired. In particular, keep in mind that a new version of a work in the public domain may have had material added to it that is still protected by copyright. For instance, the date of creation of a work translated from a foreign language is the date of the translation, not the date of the creation of the original work; so a 1990s translation of a 16th-century French drama is protected by copyright. Also note that a work does not enter the public domain when it goes out of print. Out-of-print works may be and frequently are still protected by copyright. Further, copyright registration and notice are no longer required for a work to be protected by copyright. The fact that a work doesn’t have a copyright notice doesn’t mean that it’s not protected by copyright.

A work is also in the public domain if it is a work created by a federal government employee during the course of his/her employment. This aspect of the copyright law only applies to works created by federal government employees, though, so works created by state governments, for instance, or works created by private companies under contract to the federal government, may not be in the public domain. (It’s possible for these types of works to be dedicated to the public domain even though federal copyright law doesn’t automatically make them so.)

Often the copyright page of a government publication will indicate whether the contents are in the public domain. Write to government agencies from whose publications you wish to quote to find out whether the material may be used freely without permission. You must also notify your editor about any substantial use you have made of government works; by law the copyright notice in your book might have to disclaim ownership of that material.

The U.S. Copyright Office can answer specific questions about copyrights and can assist in copyright searches. You can contact it by calling (202) 707-3000; by writing to Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20559 or by visiting the Office’s website. http://www.loc.gov/copyright/

Other Permission Issues

In determining whether permission is needed for a particular excerpt or illustration, also keep the following in mind:

  • Paraphrasing. Permission must be obtained to use material that is paraphrased, abridged, or condensed from the original, even if the material is rewritten, if the new version is substantially similar to the original.
  • Embedded material. If you use an excerpt that contains material from another source, you need permission from the owner of the embedded material as well as the owner of the excerpt.
  • Use of material from Morgan James publications. Complete and submit a permission request to your acquisition agent. Permission is required to use material from Morgan James publications in other Morgan James works, but Morgan James will handle.
  • Your own material. You need to get permission to quote from yourself if another publisher holds the rights to your work.
  • Works published in other countries. Works published in other countries can also be and generally are protected by copyright. The copyright term for European Union countries is the life of the author plus 70 years. Permission should be obtained for foreign works just as it is obtained for U.S. works.

Permission forms

Send the original and one duplicate copy to the source, keeping a second duplicate for your files. The grantor should keep the duplicate and return the approved original.

Indicate on the permission form exactly what you seek permission to use. The permission must be for world rights in all editions, in all languages, and in all electronic formats, including the Internet.

Read returned permission forms carefully. Be sure all source and credit lines in your manuscript read exactly as requested by the grantor. In the “Author and Publisher Use Only” space at the bottom of our form, you would indicate which materials in your manuscript are covered by that permission form. Figure 6-2 in the source could be Figure 9-1 in your manuscript, but unless you indicate this, we would have no way of knowing. Track this in your log. If the material was sent to you in the form of a press release or press packet, please submit the cover letter or press release as the permission.

A sample permission form is located at here. All data except for the required signatures can be typed into fields in the pdf form or you can print out the form and the fill in the information. Send the original and one duplicate copy to the source, keeping a second duplicate for your files. The grantor should keep the duplicate and return the approved original.

If you are unsure or need help, please seek competent legal advice.