Securing Permission for Copyrighted Works:
Expediting the Process with the Aid of Collective Rights Organizations

There are many organizations that can aid you in your quest for securing permission to use copyrighted works. These organizations, by acting as agents for multiple copyright owners, can expedite the process of securing permission either by putting you in contact with the proper copyright owner, or by granting permission on behalf of the copyright owner. Many of these organizations can even grant “instant” permission online. By contacting the appropriate organization, you may be able to secure permission without having to identify, locate, or contact an individual creator of any particular work. Therefore, when starting from scratch, contacting the appropriate collective rights organization will likely be the best place to start your search.

Securing Rights for the use of:

Works in print
Online works (websites)
Musical works (including any accompanying words and sound recordings)
Dramatic works (including any accompanying music)
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audio-visual works
Software
Syndicated comics, cartoons, and editorials
Religious works

Works in print
Books, magazines, newspaper articles, newsletters, brochures, pamphlets, dissertations, journal articles, etc.

• Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)

o CCC can grant permission for use of thousands of text-based works. As a general rule, start here when desiring permission to use a text-based work. CCC is able to provide a simple and cost-effective method of securing permissions for the use of many text-based forms of copyrighted materials. Although some permissions are granted instantly at CCC online, others may take much longer. The service recommends entering your application four to six weeks before the start of the term for which the materials will be needed.

• Authors Registry

o Based in the UK

• Access Copyright

o Based in Canada

• Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society Limited

o Representing mostly British authors.

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Online works (websites)
The most efficient way to get permission to use a copyrighted work from a webpage is to contact the owner or author of the webpage. In some cases, you may be directed to an organization such as the CCC or Icopyright.com in order to get permission.

• Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)
• iCopyright.com

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Musical works (including any accompanying words and sound recordings)

Coming Soon!

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Dramatic works (including any accompanying music)
Stage plays, musical plays, opera, ballet, etc.

• Dramatic works may not be publicly performed without permission, either in their entirety or in smaller portions, such as: excerpts, acts, scenes, monologues, etc. The rights that are needed to publicly perform a dramatic work that combines a musical work together with staging, dialogue, costuming, special lighting, choreography, etc. are referred to as grand performing rights. Grand performing rights are typically obtained from the creator of the work or their publisher. The rights to publicly perform a single piece of music from a musical play in a non-dramatic fashion are often referred to as small performing rights. Small performing rights are typically obtained from organizations such as ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. To qualify as a non-dramatic performance, a piece of music taken from a musical play may not make use of any form of staging, choreography, etc., even if the use of any of these elements is not intended to represent any part of the original musical play. For example, creating your own dance steps to a piece of music from a musical play disqualifies the use as a non-dramatic use and permission for the grand performing rights must be sought.

• These organizations license rights to plays and musical theater works:

o Baker’s Plays
o Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.
o Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
o Dramatic Publishing Co.
o Music Theatre International
o Pioneer Drama Service
o Popular Play Service
o The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization
o Samuel French, Inc.
o Tams-Witmark Music Library

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Pictorial, graphic, fine art, and sculptural works
There are many organizations that license the use of still images. Many of these organizations are set up online to allow you to search their databases by category or keyword. Some of these agencies specialize in royalty-free pictures and only a charge a fee for stocking and sending the picture. Other organizations license the rights to use some of the more well-known still images. For a list of almost 400 such organizations see http://www.mindspring.com/~frankn/photo/stock.html.

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Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
Any public performance or the display of any part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work must be approved by the copyright owner. Purchasing a copy of a movie does not give the owner of the copy the right to display it publicly. These organizations will help identify who holds the public display rights of movies:
• The Internet Movie Database has a searchable database of films and television shows which can useful in determining which organization holds the rights to a particular work.

Licensing Organizations:

• Motion Picture Licensing Corporation
• Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.
• Criterion Pictures USA, Inc.
• Kino International Corp.
• Milestone Film & Video

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Software
Permission must be secured to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or make derivative works of software. Nearly all software publishers may be contacted through their homepage on the internet.

Links to Software Publishers

Other helpful sites:
• Licensing Basics from Microsoft
• Amazon.com’s Licensing Center

o This site provides licensing agreements with many of the top software producers.

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Comic/cartoon syndicates
These organizations license the use of cartoons. Some of these organizations license the use of editorials from several famous editorial columnists as well.
• Cartoonbank.com
• CartoonStock
• Creators.com
• King Features Syndicate
• Los Angeles Times Syndicate
• Tribune Media Syndicate (ComicsPage.com)
• UExpress
• United Media (comic zone)
• Universal Press Syndicate
• The Washington Post Writers Group

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Religious works
These organizations specialize in Christian works:
• Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI)
• Christian Video Licensing International (CVLI)

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Last Updated: February 7, 2006

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