1986 Policy and Guidelines on the Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials for Teaching and Research

Appendix 2. Obtaining Permission from the Copyright Owner

University employees should obtain prior written permission from the copyright owner to copy materials in those situations when the proposed copying does not come within the doctrine of "fair use". Obtaining such permission is usually not difficult and, in most cases for classroom use, is granted with no royalty charge.

How to Obtain Permission

When a proposed use of photocopied material requires a faculty member to request permission, communication of complete and accurate information to the copyright owner will facilitate the request. The Association of American Publishers suggests that the following information be included to expedite the process:

1) Title, author and/or editor, and edition of materials to be duplicated;
2) Exact material to be used, giving amount, page numbers, chapters and, if possible, a photocopy of the material;
3) Number of copies to be made;
4) Use to be made of duplicated materials (including time period or duration if copying on an on-going basis is desired);
5) Form of distribution (classroom, newsletter, etc.);
6) Whether or not the material is to be sold; and
7) Type of reprint (ditto, photocopy, offset, typeset).

When the copyright owner is the publisher of the work, the request should be sent, together with a self-addressed return envelope, to the permissions department of the publisher in question. If the address of the publisher does not appear at the front of the material, it may be obtained from The Literary Marketplace (for books) or Ulrich's International Periodicals (for journals), both published by the R.R. Bowker Company. When the copyright owner is the author, the request should be directed to the author either in care of the publisher's permissions department, as set forth above, or at the author's address. For purposes of proof, and to define the scope of the permission, it is important that the permission be in writing. Many publishers have registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 21 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970. This organization can facilitate obtaining permission to copy. Check with your campus library about the use of this service.

The process of requesting permission directly from the publisher requires time, as the publisher must check the status and ownership of rights and related matters, and evaluate the request. It is advisable, therefore, to allow sufficient lead time. In some instances the publisher may assess a fee for permission, which may be passed on to students who receive copies of the photocopied material.

The following is a sample letter to a copyright owner (in this example a publisher) requesting permission to copy:

Date

Material Permissions Department
Academic Book Company
200 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10016

Dear Sir/Madam:

I would like permission to copy the following for use in my class (name of class) (next semester) or (next semester and subsequent semesters during which the course is offered.)

Title: Ethics and the Law, Second Edition
Copyright: Academic Book Co., 1965, 1971.
Author: John Smith
Material to be duplicated: Chapter 9 (photocopy enclosed).
Number of Copies: 50
Distribution: The material will be distributed to students in my class and they will pay only the cost of the photocopying.
Type of reprint: Photocopy
Use: The chapter will be used as supplementary teaching materials.

I have enclosed a self-addressed envelope for your convenience in replying to this request.

Sincerely, Faculty Member