Contact Copyright Services for assistance:
Authors should be aware that they may be relinquishing their copyright, in whole or in part, as part of the terms of their publishing agreement. In some cases, this can impact an author’s ability to reuse or adapt the published work for educational or later research endeavors.
General best practices:
More information:
It is important to read your publishing agreement to understand all terms that may impact ownership and use of your work. While terms can vary from publication to publication, here are some common terms found in agreements:
There are several important copyright considerations to keep in mind regarding your thesis or dissertation. This guide introduces the key concepts and includes links to help you learn more. It is highly recommended that you read the following guide as soon as possible during your research and writing process:
Read: Copyright in Your Thesis or Dissertation
Managing your rights
Including text, graphs, images, and other content in your final document
What is fair use? Fair use is a limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights. A fair use of a work is not an infringement. You can evaluate whether fair use may apply to your situation through the analysis and application of the four fair use factors.
Is my use a fair use? You may be able to rely on fair use when reproducing copyrighted material in your thesis or dissertation, but you cannot assume that all such uses are automatically fair use. You must conduct a fair use analysis for each individual use of copyrighted material in your thesis or dissertation.
Use the following resources to learn about fair use and conducting a fair use analysis:
What is NOT fair use? Fair use depends on a fact-specific evaluation of all four factors. There is no single criterion that automatically determines whether or not a particular use is fair use. However, some criteria that may weaken your argument for fair use of copyrighted material in your thesis or dissertation are:
You may choose to address weaknesses in your fair use argument by making changes to your use, such as using a smaller amount of the copyrighted material. You may also choose to seek permission for your use of the material, to reference the material without reproducing it, or to seek an alternative to the material you originally considered using.
Permission from the copyright owner to reproduce third party material in your thesis or dissertation may be required if the work:
The permissions process can take a significant amount of time. Do not wait until the last minute! Consider whether you will need permission to reproduce the material(s) you want to use in your manuscript, and give yourself sufficient time to locate and contact the copyright owner(s).
© 2024 The Ohio State University - University Libraries
1858 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: (614) 292-OSUL (6785)
Request an alternate format of this page | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Contact Us