What is Copyright?
Copyright is the exclusive legal right to print, publish, perform, film or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. Put simply, this means that the original creators of a work — and anyone they give authorization to — are the only ones with the exclusive right to reproduce that work.
The Steps to Obtaining Copyright Permission
1. Identify What Rights Are Needed and Who Owns Them
Think of copyright as a pie that can be cut into endlessly smaller and smaller slices; you need to find out who owns the slice or slices of pie that you’re after and seek out the permission of each. With a newspaper article, for example, different parties may own the photographs that accompany an article and the text of the article itself. With musical works, the author or musician who composed the material is not necessarily the copyright holder. More often than not, these rights actually belong to a publisher or a record label.
2. See If Your Use Case Is Covered Under Fair Use or Creative Commons
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to link to or use limited portions of a work, including quotations from it, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting and scholarly inquiry without requiring explicit permission from the copyright holder. However there are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes or a percentage of a work, which means that “fair use” is subject to interpretation. Bear in mind that fair use generally does not apply to commercial use, or any activity in which you use a product or service for financial gain.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides licensing and public domain tools that offer a free and standardized way for copyright holders to grant permission for the creative and academic work of others while ensuring proper attribution. In some cases, Creative Commons licenses can also be a great way to use content or graphics without a fee. However, many of these use cases do not apply to businesses. If you are unclear whether or not your particular use case is covered under a license, we recommend additional research or speaking to a copyright lawyer.
3. Contact the Copyright Holder
Once you have identified the owner of the material, you need to contact this person or organization and obtain explicit written permission before using it. If the source cannot be determined, it often pays to start with the publisher that owns the vehicle or instrument where the material was found. If it turns out that the publisher is not the copyright holder of all or part of the material, a publisher’s representative can often direct you to the copyright holder or holders. If you do not hear back from the copyright holder, you may not proceed to reuse or republish the material — even with proper attribution.
4. Get Permission In Writing
When contacting a copyright holder to request permission, it’s important to get the exchange in writing, whether it applies to republishing a piece of content or using a music clip for a YouTube video. To start the negotiation, draft a letter that clearly identifies the material you would like to use, along with an image or link to the material, and the exact nature of the use, including how you intend to distribute it and whether the material will be sold or promoted in any way. Bear in mind that just because you have the rights to republish an article does not mean you have the rights to reuse it in other ways. For example, producing a social media campaign to promote an article that has been licensed for editorial use may not be permitted; in such a case, the promotion of the article on social media may be considered commercial use. If commercial rights were not included in the original license, then any use of the image beyond the initial republication is off limits.
Common Questions About Copyright
How Are Permission Rights Arranged?
Obtaining permission is the process of contacting the copyright holder or rights representative and asking to reuse or republish copyrighted material. Upon doing so, the responsible party will likely ask some additional questions to clarify what sort of permissions are being sought and come up with the terms and conditions of the copyright license, including any applicable licensing fees. Prior to entering the negotiation, it's important for your team to understand how third-party content will be used. For example: If you get permission to legally copy news content to your website, your team cannot automically share those same articles via email or on your company's intranet.
How Do I Find the Copyright Holder?
Many publishers or music labels have a dedicated office that handles their rights licensing. In many cases, you can visit their websites and find the contact information of their licensing team or their permissions agents. You will then be able to contact a representative who is well equipped to help guide you through the licensing process and see that you obtain a copyright license for the desired material in an efficient manner. If the copyright holder can't be located, is unresponsive or is unable to grant permission, it is time to consider using alternative materials. Do not use the material without permission. Doing so can create legal issues down the road.
An Easier Solution: A Content Licensing Agreement
Instead of negotiating with individual publishers and music labels, consider a copyright or content licensing agreement. This differs from a permissions license in that it usually covers rights and permission at scale. For example, if you are looking to use more than one work or looking for ongoing use of the same work on more than one occasion, a content licensing agreement may be a good option for you. The benefits of going this route are that you gain access to multiple sources of content that have already been cleared for licensing.
NYTLicensing develops a range of content packages to help our clients create publications and communications at scale. We offer permission to republish articles, commentary and multimedia from over 30 renowned publications like The New York Times, The Economist and Harvard Business Review. All of our packages are rights-cleared, easy to implement and come complete with republishing guidelines. We handle the entire legal process before sale, ensuring that our content can be published instantly, anywhere in the world.
