Follow these steps to determine whether you need to get copyright permission in order to reproduce, distribute, modify, display, or perform a particular work. In addition, please consult sections 14 through 28 of this guide for more specific information.
- Is the work subject to a license agreement? Check the item itself and any accompanying documentation.
- If the work is not subject to a license agreement, is it in the public domain? See section 6 of this guide, “When Works Pass into the Public Domain.” Works in the public domain have no copyright restrictions.
- If the work is not in the public domain, has permission for your intended use already been granted by the copyright owner?
If you wish to post a journal article in the learning management system, for example, check the copyright page of the journal issue/volume, or the publisher’s website, to see if the publisher has already granted permission for educational uses such as this.
If you are the author of a journal article, visit https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/ to determine whether the publisher automatically grants permission for your use.
Documents marked with the following symbols automatically grant permission for certain uses. For more information, see https://creativecommons.org/.
- If the work is not in the public domain, is your intended use justified by Fair Use? See section 7 of this guide, “The Fair Use Exemption.”
- If none of the above applies, is there a particular copyright exemption given in the law, applying to your intended use? These exemptions are described in sections 14 through 28 of this guide.
- If none of the above applies, you must get permission from the copyright holder. See section 9 of this guide, “How to Get Copyright Permission to Use a Work.”
