Jan 30 2009
Step Three: Who Holds the Copyright?
The next step in the permissions process is identifying the owner (the copyright holder) of the material. Your first thought might be to say that the author/creator is the owner, so what’s the big deal? But when it comes to copyright rules, nothing is necessarily simple.
As I’d discussed earlier in “When Is An Author Not an Author,” there are definite times when the author is not legally considered the author. But even when the author does own the copyright, directly asking the author for permission to use material doesn’t always work. For example, well known authors use literary agents and the agents handle such mundane matters as contracts and permissions. In other cases, an author may own the copyright but has signed an agreement with the publisher that designates the publisher as the legal contact.
So what are you supposed to do?
Start with the sourcing information you already have. You’re so organized by now, I’ll bet you have the sourcing information on your spreadsheet already! Let’s begin with a basic example. This is all the information you have:
“Onstage Magic with Water” by Mel Gussow
The New York Times, 7/28/88, pp. E1, E3
You’re in luck. You have the three most important facts needed for tracking the copyright holder: the article title, the article’s author, and where the article was found. Your first contact will be The New York Times. Enter “New York Times, The” on your spreadsheet for your first contact. (Be patient. I’ll soon be explaining how to make the contact. We’re only trying to figure out whom to contact for now.)
Another example:
“Age, Race, Sex and Class: Women Redefining Difference” (1978) by Audre Lord from Sister/Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984). You will have to do some simple research to find the copyright holder of this article. The copyright holder might be Lord, but whom should you contact? Start by finding out who wrote Sister/Outsider? Who published the book?
Amazon.com is an invaluable research tool. If you enter Sister/Outsider 1984 in Amazon’s search box, the first entry listed is the book you want. Audre Lorde is the book’s author. Click on the book and scroll down the page. The publisher is Crossing Press. Rule of thumb says to contact the publisher first. Enter Crossing Press on your spreadsheet. That wasn’t so hard, was it? If only they were all so easy!
The next post will tackle a more challenging search for the copyright holder.
© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.
