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Do I Need to Purchase Rights to Hold a Book Reading?

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when you need permission - fair use guidelines
Andrea Costa Photography / Flickr

Note from Jane:This is a cornerstone post of my site, regularly updated.

Whenever yous decide to direct quote, extract, or reproduce someone else's piece of work in your ain—whether that's a book, weblog, magazine article, or something else—you have to consider, for each use, whether or not information technology'southward necessary to seek explicit, legal permission from the work's creator or owner.

Unfortunately, quoting or excerpting someone else's work falls into one of the grayest areas of copyright law. There is no legal rule stipulating what quantity is OK to employ without seeking permission from the owner or creator of the material. Major legal battles accept been fought over this question, but there is still no blackness-and-white rule.

However, probably the biggest "dominion" that you'll notice—if you're searching online or asking around—is: "Ask explicit permission for everything across 10."

What constitutes "X" depends on whom you ask. Some people say 300 words. Some say one line. Some say 10% of the word count.

But any rules you find are based on a general institutional guideline or a person's experience, as well as their overall condolement level with the risk involved in directly quoting and excerpting work. That'southward why opinions and guidelines vary so much. Furthermore, each and every instance of quoting/excerpting the same piece of work may have a dissimilar answer as to whether y'all demand permission.

So there is no 1 rule you tin employ, only principles. And then I hope to provide some clarity on those principles in this post.

When do y'all NOT need to seek permission?

You practise not need to seek permission for work that's in thepublic domain. This isn't always a simple matter to make up one's mind, but as of Jan. 1, 2020, it includes any work published before 1926. (As of Jan. i, 2022, it will include any work published before 1927. And so on.)

Some works published subsequently 1926 are besides in the public domain. Read this guide from Stanford about how to make up one's mind if a work is in the public domain.

You also do not need to seek permission when you lot're simply mentioning the championship or writer of a work. It'south like citing a fact. Any time y'all state unadorned facts—like a list of the 50 states in the Usa—you are not infringing on anyone's copyright.

Information technology'due south besides fine to link to something online from your website, blog, or publication. Linking does not crave permission.

Finally, if your employ falls within "fair use," you do not demand permission. This is where we enter the trickiest area of all when it comes to permissions.

What constitutes "fair use" and thus doesn't require permission?

There are four criteria for determining fair use, which sounds tidy, but it's not. These criteria are vague and open up to interpretation. Ultimately, when disagreement arises over what constitutes off-white use, information technology'southward upwardly to the courts to make a decision.

The 4 criteria are:

  1. The purpose and grapheme of the utilize.For instance, a distinction is often made betwixt commercial and non-for-turn a profit/educational use. If the purpose of your work is commercial (to brand money), that doesn't mean you lot're suddenly in violation of fair apply. Only it makes your instance less sympathetic if you lot're borrowing a lot of someone else'southward work to prop up your own commercial venture.
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work. Facts cannot be copyrighted. More than creative or imaginative works by and large get the strongest protection.
  3. The corporeality and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the entire quoted work. The police does not offer whatever percentage or word count hither that we can get by. That'southward because if the portion quoted is considered the most valuable part of the piece of work, y'all may exist violating fair use. That said, most publishers' guidelines for authors offer a rule of pollex; at the publisher I worked at, that guideline was 200-300 words from a volume-length work.
  4. The result of the use on the potential market for or value of the quoted piece of work. If your employ of the original work affects the likelihood that people will buy the original work, you can be in violation of off-white use. That is: If yous quote the material extensively, or in a way that the original source would no longer be required, so you're possibly affecting the marketplace for the quoted piece of work. (Don't confuse this criteria with the purpose of reviews or criticism. If a negative review would dissuade people from ownership the source, this is not related to the off-white use give-and-take in this mail.)

To further explore what these four criteria mean in practice, be certain to read this excellent commodity by chaser Howard Zaharoff that originally appeared in Writer's Assimilate magazine:  "A Writers' Guide to Fair Use."

In practice, if you lot're only quoting a few lines from a full-length volume, you are most likely within fair use guidelines, and do not need to seek permission. But to emphasize: every case is dissimilar. Also, much depends on your risk tolerance. To eliminate all possible risk, then it'due south best to either ask for permission or eliminate use of the copyrighted material in your ain work. Here'southward a flowchart that can help you evaluate what you might demand to enquire permission for.

Iii important caveats virtually this chart

  • Nothing can end someone from suing yous if you lot use their copyrighted work in your published work.
  • The just way your use of copyright is tested is by way of a lawsuit. That is, at that place is no full general policing of copyright. Therefore, how you handle copyrighted content depends on how take chances averse you are. If you decide not to seek permission because you lot programme to use a fair apply argument, be prepared with the best-possible case to defend your use of the copyrighted content in the event that you are sued.
  • If you intend to produce material that is accessible worldwide and in digital grade (such as content on the internet, ebooks, etc), and if y'all are using content considered in the public domain in the United States, you should double-check whether the content is also in the public domain in other countries. You tin can learn more than about this issue in The Public Domain by Stephen Fishman.

If you lot're concerned near your risk, you can also search for the rights owner's name and the keyword "lawsuit" or "copyright" to run into if they've tried to sue anyone. Nonetheless, just because someone hasn't sued yet doesn't mean they won't sue you.

If you seek permission, you need to identify the rights holder

In one case you've decided to seek permission, the adjacent chore, and one of the most hard, is identifying who currently holds the copyright or licensing to the work. It will non ever exist clear who the copyright holder is, or if the work is fifty-fifty under copyright. Hither are your starting points.

  • First, verify the bodily source of the text. Sometimes writers apply quotes from Goodreads or other online sources without verifying the accuracy of those quotes. (As someone who is misattributed on Goodreads, I can confirm: people are misattributed all the time.) If y'all don't know the source, and you don't know the length of the source piece of work, and you don't know if what you are quoting is the "heart" of the work, then you are putting yourself at risk of infringement.
  • If you're seeking permission to quote from a book, expect on the copyright page for the rights holder; information technology'southward normally the author. However, bold the book is currently in print and on auction, commonly you contact the publisher for permission. You can likewise try contacting the author or the author'due south literary amanuensis or estate. (By and large, it'southward all-time to go to whomever seems the virtually accessible and responsive.)
  • If the book is out of impress (sometimes you can tell because editions are only available for sale from third parties on Amazon), or if the publisher is out of business or otherwise unreachable, you should attempt to contact the author, assuming they are listed as the rights holder on the copyright page.
  • You tin can too check authorities records.Most published books, also as other materials, have been officially registered with the The states Copyright Office. Here is an first-class guide from Stanford on how to search the government records.
  • For photo or image permissions: Where does the photo appear? If information technology's in a paper, magazine, or an online publication, yous should seek permission from the publication if the photo is taken by one of their staff photographers or otherwise created past staff. If you lot've found the photo online, yous need to effigy out where information technology originated from and/or who it'south originally credited to. (Endeavor using Google Image Search.) When in incertitude, seek permission from the lensman, keeping in listen that many photographers piece of work through large-calibration agencies such as Getty for licensing and permissions. Photograph permissions can get circuitous chop-chop if they characteristic models (yous may need a model release in improver to permission) or trademarked products. Here is an fantabulous, in-depth guide if you need it: Can I Utilize That Image?

Generally, yous or your publisher will want nonexclusiveworld rights to the quoted material. "Nonexclusive" means you lot're non preventing the copyright owner from doing whatsoever they desire with the original material; "world rights" means you have the ability to distribute and sell your own work, with the quoted material, anywhere in the world, which is almost ever a necessity given the digital world we alive in.

Too, permission is generally granted for a specific print run or period of time. For example, if yous seek permission for a 5,000-copy print run, you lot'll need to secure permission a 2d fourth dimension if you go back to press. (And if y'all publish a second edition, you'll need to seek permission once more.)

A possible solution for some authors: PLSclear

PLSclear, a UK firm, tin help secure permissions. It is a free service; here is the list of publishers that participate.

If you're under contract with a publisher

But about every traditional publisher provides their authors with a permissions form to use for their projection (exist certain to enquire if you haven't received one!), but if you're a cocky-publishing author, or you're working with a new or inexperienced firm, you may need to create your own.

To help you become started, I've created a sample permissions letter you tin customize; information technology will exist especially helpful if you lot're contacting authors or individuals for permission. It will be less necessary if you're contacting publishers, who frequently have their ain form that you need to sign or complete.

To request permission from a publisher, visit their website and expect for the Permissions or Rights section. Here are links to the New York publishers' rights departments, with instructions on how to request permission.

  • Harpercollins permissions data
  • Penguin Random Business firm permissions portal
  • Macmillan permissions
  • Simon & Schuster permissions
  • Hachette permissions

Will you be charged for permission?

Information technology'southward difficult to say, simply when I worked at a mid-size publisher, we advised authors to exist prepared to pay $i,000–$iii,000 for all necessary permissions fees if they were quoting regularly and at length. (Publishers don't comprehend permissions fees for authors, except in special cases.) If yous're seeking permission for employ that is nonprofit or educational in nature, the fees may exist lower or waived.

What if you don't get a response or the weather condition are unreasonable?

That's unfortunate, merely there is little you lot tin do. If you can't wait to hear back, or if you can't afford the fees, y'all should not use the work in your own. However, there is something known equally a "good faith search" selection. If you lot've gone above and across in your efforts to seek permission, but cannot determine the copyright holder, reach the copyright holder, or get a response from a copyright holder (and you have documented information technology), this volition exist weighed equally role of the penalty for infringement. This is non protection, nonetheless, from existence sued or beingness plant guilty of infringement.

How to avert the necessity of seeking permission

The best way to avoid seeking permission is to not quote or excerpt another person'south copyrighted piece of work. Some believe that paraphrasing or summarizing the original—rather than quoting it—can get yous off the claw, and in some cases, this may be acceptable. Ideas are non protected by copyright, simply the expression of those ideas is protected. So, putting something in your own words or paraphrasing is usually okay, as long every bit it'due south not likewise close to the way the original idea was expressed.

You tin can also try to restrict yourself to using piece of work that is licensed and available under Creative Eatables—which does not require you to seek permission if your use abides by sure guidelines. Learn more most Artistic Eatables.

What about seeking permission to use work from websites, blogs, or in other digital mediums?

The same rules employ to work published online as in more formal contexts, such every bit impress books or magazines, simply attitudes tend to be more lax on the Internet. When bloggers (or others) amass, repurpose, or otherwise excerpt copyrighted piece of work, they typically view such utilize as "sharing" or "publicity" for the original writer rather than as a copyright violation, particularly if it's for noncommercial or educational purposes. I'thou not talking about wholesale piracy here, but about all-encompassing excerpting or aggregating that would not exist considered OK otherwise. In short, information technology's a controversial consequence.

Does fair employ and permissions apply to images, art, or other types of media?

The same rules apply to all types of work, whether written or visual.

Typically, you have to pay licensing or royalty fees for any photos or artwork you desire to use in your own piece of work. If you can't find or contact the rights holder for an image, and it's non in the public domain, so yous cannot use information technology in your own piece of work. You demand explicit permission.

However, more and more images are being issued by rights holders under Creative Commons rather than traditional copyright. To search for such images, you can look under the "Creative Commons" category at Flickr or VisualHunt.

Note: If you observe "rights-gratis images," that doesn't hateful they are free to use. It merely means they are commonly cheaper to pay for and overall less of a hassle.

No permission is needed to mention song titles, motion picture titles, names, etc.

You do non demand permission to include song titles, picture titles, TV testify titles—any kind of title—in your piece of work. Yous can also include the names of places, things, events, and people in your work without request permission. These are facts.

Simply: exist very careful when quoting song lyrics and verse

Because songs and poems are so short, it's dangerous to utilise fifty-fifty ane line without asking for permission, even if you lot think the employ could exist considered fair. Notwithstanding, information technology's still fine to use vocal titles, poem titles, artist names, band names, moving picture titles, etc.

If you desire to consult with someone on permissions

I recommend my colleagues at Copy Write Consultants, who have feel in permissions and proper use of citations.

For more help

  • 12 Copyright Half-Truths by Lloyd Jassin at CopyLaw—addresses mistaken beliefs usually held by authors; Jassin'southward entire weblog is very useful and worth reading
  • Denizen Media Law: Works Not Covered By Copyright
  • Is It Fair Employ? 7 Questions to Ask Before You Use Copyrighted Material by lawyer Brad Frazer
  • Copyright Office FAQ: very helpful—addresses recipes, titles, ideas, names, and more than
  • Very helpful interview with Paul Rapp, an intellectual holding rights expert, over at Huffington Post. Discusses song lyrics, mentioning famous people, what constitutes off-white use, and much more than.
  • Are You lot Worried Your Work or Ideas Will Be Stolen?

Sample Permissions Letter

reardonfichames1940.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.janefriedman.com/sample-permission-letter/

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