Requesting Permission

How do I request permission?

First you will need to identify your requirements, for example:

• What is the work that you require, and how much of it do you need?
• How will you be using it? E.g. in a conference presentation or thesis?
• How long do you intend to use it? E.g. 1 day or forever?
• Where do you intend to distribute it? E.g. print journal, digital document, share online, etc.

Many academic publishers now use automated copyright clearance systems, such as RightsLink – which is used by Elsevier, Springer, Nature, and Wiley. Please see an example of using RightsLink here. If you need guidance on using RightsLink, please feel free to contact us.

Certain publishers also do have an official permission request template that you can either fill up online or download. For example:
Elsevier’s permission request form
Oxford University Press’s permission request form

Do plan ahead when making the permission requests as some publishers or people may take up to weeks or even months to reply. If you do not receive a response to your request, you should assume that permission to use the copyright work has been refused. In this regard, the use of the copyright work bears risks of copyright infringement unless a fair dealing defence clearly applies.

In any case, you should always maintain a record of all the permission requests you have made and their replies, so that you can produce them when required.