Copyright Guide for Academic Use: Home

When determining whether you can use another's work that may be protected by copyright, try working through the following questions:

1. Is work protected by copyright?

2. If work is protected by copyright, can you use it without permission?

3. If you need permission, how can you get it?

This guide is a collection of resources to help you assess whether and how you can use a copyrighted work.  It is not legal advice and not a substitute for legal advice.  However, it may give you some useful guidance.

You may want to take the following steps to decide whether you can use another's work: 

1. Is work protected by copyright?  Determine whether the work is the type of work protected by the Copyright Act.  If not, then you can use the work without infringing copyright, although you may want to consider other rights, such as trademark, patent, and right of publicity. 
2. Can I use work without permission?  Assuming the work is protected by copyright, determine whether you can use the work without permission.
3. How can I get permission?  Assuming you need to get permission, determine how to do that.

The embedded links and tabs at the top of this guide lead to resources for assisting you with these questions.