Jan 08 2009
Why Can’t I Just Use Footnotes?
A reader recently asked, “Why can’t you just reference the work in a footnote?” I’m answering this question in a separate post because I’m sure it’s a question that others might have, and the answer could get lost in the comments.
Footnotes and copyrights (permissions) are two very different things. A footnote is a reference, usually placed at the bottom of a page of text, to comment on or to explain the text. A permission is a legal document granting you permission to use copyrighted material in your text. The permission may be granted for free or a fee may be charged. While a footnote may or may not identify the source of the material, there is no legal agreement involved with a footnote; it is simply a note added to the text.
Bibliographies are a list of references used by an author. The author may or may not have quoted material from all the references but has supposedly read all the material while doing research.
Another difference: footnotes and bibliographies have standardized formatting styles. All copyright notices contain some basic information (see my earlier post about copyright legends) but the formatting of individual copyright notices granting permission to use material can vary considerably.
Copyright notices can be placed at the beginning or the end of the copied text as long as the same style is used consistently throughout the project. In textbooks, copyright notices are frequently placed in a special credits section at the end of the book. Also, it’s not unusual for the copyright holder to state not only where the copyright (credit line) must be placed but exactly how the credit line must be worded. I’ll be explaining this more in future posts.
(If you are writing a paper for school, be sure to read my post about fair use.)
© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.
