Asking for Permission to Use Copyrighted Works

Seeking copyright permission can be a lengthy process, so before starting to do so you should check that your proposed use of the copyrighted work is not already covered by one of the university’s copyright licences or by a copyright exception. If you are unsure, you can seek advice on this from the Copyright Officer.

If you do need to seek permission, the first step is to trace the owner of the copyright. This will often be the creator of the work (such as an author) but may not always be – for example, they may have signed their copyright over to a publisher, or if they are no longer alive it may have been inherited by their heirs. The IPO has advice on how to trace a copyright owner.

Once you have established the owner of the copyright, you will be able to write to them to seek permission for your intended use. You will need to inform them:

How much of their copyrighted material you wish to use
What use you will be making of their material
Where your work will be made available and under what circumstances
Whether your intended use is educational, personal or commercial
How they will be credited

The copyright owner may or may not give permission and they may or may not demand payment in return for permission. You will need to wait until permission has been given before using the copyrighted work.

A failure to reply cannot be taken as permission being given. You may need to contact the copyright owner several times to get a response and it is sensible to devise a back-up plan if you are not able to get permission.

Orphan Works

If you cannot trace the copyright owner but the copyright protection has not expired, then it may be an Orphan Work.

This refers to a work whose owner cannot be found after a search process demonstrating due diligence. In this case, you may apply to the Intellectual Property Office for an Orphan Works Licence.

You must pay a fee and demonstrate that your search was carried out with due diligence.

If your application is approved, the licence will allow you to make use of the copyrighted work for a period of seven years, after which it will be necessary to renew the licence if you wish to continue using it.