Fair Use

To request permission, the copyright holder must be determined

Who is the copyright holder?

If you know the source of the material, copyright information can be found there. Look at the specific image to check for any notes or if the copyright holder's name appears. The copyright holder may be an individual or a publisher.

1. Copyright Holder is an Individual

   • An individual's contact information may appear in the book or articles, or on the web. Often, you will need to email the person directly to request permission to use the image. See below for the information needed to request permission. 

2. Copyright Holder is a Publisher

   • A publisher's contact information can be found from the source or on the web. Sometimes this is a straightforward process, but for older materials it may be more difficult, since publishers may merge or new editions may be produced by a new publisher. At this time, the library will aid in determining copyright holders.

   • Before requesting permission, double check the image to ensure that the publisher you are contacting holds the copyright to the image. Images in a resource are generally copyrighted by the publisher. However, notes may appear in the text stating that the image has been reprinted from another source with permission. In this case, the original copyright holder must be contacted. 

Resources for determining who the copyright holder is:

• Copyright Clearance Center

• Publishers’ Websites 

What information do publishers need when requesting permission?

• Title
• Author
• ISBN number
• Exact page numbers and images that will be reproduced
• Where and why the image will be reproduced
• The number of students who will have access to the image
• The Course Name and description
• Time frame of permission (one semester or multiple)

The publisher will generally specify any further information they need. Keep in mind, that they might need a copy of the title page, the acknowledgements page, and/or a copy of the images as well as other specific information.

1. The publisher/copyright holder grants permission and the image(s) can be included in the PowerPoint with attribution.  A record of the permission should be kept and a note should be placed in the slides notes section.

2. The publisher/copyright holder grants permission with a fee.  Many publishers charge fees even to educational institutions, and some fees can be as high as $50 per image per use.  If this occurs, obtain alternative images from the list of images that do not require permission.  The library can also assist in finding alternative images.

3. Permission is denied. The image cannot be used in the PowerPoint, and an alternative image should be used from the list of images that do not require permission.