Poetry

If, for each poetry quote you are using that is not already in the public domain,[1] you can answer “yes” to any one of the following questions, then we will need permission from the rights holder in order to reprint the material:

Are you quoting more than 10 percent of the poem?
Are you quoting more than 10 lines of the poem?
Are you quoting a complete stanza from the poem?
Are you using the poetry quotation as an epigraph?

Archival material

If you are quoting from materials housed in archives, regardless of the length of the quotes, you always need to confirm with the archives that there are no reprint restrictions on the material you are using. Donors may place restrictions on collections prohibiting them from being reprinted, or they will request specific credit lines that we are legally required to include.

Interviews and personal communications

If you are quoting from unpublished interviews or correspondence, we will need statements from all parties being quoted indicating that they understand that their words and thoughts will be published.

Lyrics

Reprinting song lyrics will always require permission unless you are using lyrics already in the public domain. If you are quoting song lyrics that are not in the public domain, we will require permission from the rights holder.

Illustrative material (e.g., photographs, tables, graphs, maps, etc.)

Determining if permission is required for illustrative materials can be complicated and sometimes multiple permissions are required. The following flow chart is designed to help guide you through some of the more common scenarios. If the chart does not cover your concerns or if you still have questions, please feel free to contact our editorial staff.

 

[1] Materials originally published before 1923 are in the public domain.

2 Note that tables or graphs that have been exactly recreated from a published source are considered previously published. If, however, you have adapted a graph or table from a published source, we will only need to include the original publication details to give proper credit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Materials originally published before 1923 are in the public domain.

2 Note that tables or graphs that have been exactly recreated from a published source are considered previously published. If, however, you have adapted a graph or table from a published source, we will only need to include the original publication details to give proper credit.