Permissions

Unless it has been agreed otherwise in your contract, it is your responsibility to clear all copyright permissions for your book and to pay any permission fees. If you are unsure about whose responsibility permissions clearance is, or who bears the costs, you should check your contract or ask your editor.

It is important that you begin clearing permissions as early as possible. It can often be a slow process as you wait for replies to your permissions letters from publishers around the world. Click here to view a Sample Permissions Letter. Permissions should be cleared before the final version of your manuscript is submitted for publication, in order to avoid delays and additional costs in the production process.

Once you've received permission, any changes to content normally mean that the piece has to be recleared. It is possible the copyright owner may not like the proposed alterations and they are entitled to refuse permission.

In most cases you will need to secure non-exclusive world English language rights (including the United States)

Dealing with publishers

Most publishers charge a minimum fee to offset the cost of processing small permissions fees, or set a minimum number of words or figures below which no fee is charged.
The publisher, either as owner of the copyright or on behalf of the author where copyright remains with him/her, has exclusive right to grant (or withhold) permission, and demand any fee they think reasonable.
They also have the right to specify both the position and the wording of the acknowledgement.
You should, in the first instance, contact the publisher for permission to use material previously published by them. Some publishers may then request that you contact the author of the work to seek their permission directly.
You need to make all reasonable efforts to track down the copyright owner and get them to reply. This may be complicated if rights have moved from one publisher to another or have reverted to the author. It's important therefore for you to keep a record of all your correspondence, as proof that you have attempted to gain permission to use the material.
You cannot set a deadline for a reply or construe that no reply constitutes permission.

New editions

Permissions secured for text or figures in a previous edition of any book are not normally transferable to future editions of that book. Most publishers will grant permission for one edition only and permissions will need to be cleared from scratch for each new edition.

Duration of copyright in the UK and European Union

Where the author holds copyright, the term of copyright protection lasts for 70 years from the end of the year in which the author died.
Where the publisher holds copyright the term is also 70 years, but after the end of the year of first publication. After that date, the work will be in the public domain, and can be reproduced without permission.
If the work is of unknown authorship, copyright still expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the first year of publication.

Clearing text permissions

Before you start clearance please carefully prepare a source list, detailing where material was previously published. It should match exactly the contents as you want them published and as you provide to us in manuscript form. The copyright holder will require the following information in order to process your application:

Original chapter title
Original figure/table number (when applicable)
Original book/journal name and number
Original page numbers publisher
Year of publication

Once you've prepared a source list, add the credit/copyright lines as specified by the publishers, when granting permission, thereby creating an acknowledgements list.

Figures and tables

You will need permission if:

You intend to use a direct copy of any photograph, line drawing or table that has been previously published in another source.
You intend to adapt a line drawing or a table that has been previously published in another source.

You do not need permission if:

You intend to use raw data to construct a figure illustration or table (although the source of the data must be credited)

Photographs

Unless otherwise stated, you should apply to the publisher for permission to reproduce a photograph.
However, in some instances, copyright may reside with the photographer. The source of the photograph should be given in the figure caption or in the acknowledgements, and it is to this source that you should apply for permission.
You will need permission before using a photograph from a picture agency
You must be aware of the owner's moral right of integrity in illustrations. This can be infringed by cropping photographs or changing colours in artwork.
If you want to use a photograph you've taken of someone, you should seek permission from them. If they object to the context of the photos, then you are technically in breach of copyright (this comes under the moral right of privacy).

Using Patient information and/or images

When photographs are part of a medical record, they are governed by the patient-medical staff relationship of confidence and no one can distribute, sell or exhibit them without the consent of the health authority and the patient. Doctors who have taken medical photographs for purposes other than the patient's medical record have ethical duties to the patient that extend beyond the law to protect the patient's right to confidentiality.

In legal terms, a breach of privacy can occur if a patient can be identified from a published photograph, image or case report. UK laws in relation to an individual's right to privacy are currently being reviewed in the light of European directives. Furthermore, medical publishing operates on a worldwide basis, and the stricter privacy provisions of other countries must also be taken into account.

Please bear in mind the following points:

The General Medical Council insists that informed consent must be obtained from patients for use of information or images from which patients may be identified, for teaching purposes or for publication (see also the BMJ article Informed Consent: Edging Forwards)
A breach of confidentiality or privacy will not usually occur where the patient in the material has been made anonymous
Masking patients' eyes is not adequate in making a photograph anonymous
Photographs of patients may be recognizable to individuals and their families, even if the head and shoulders are not included
Patients can recognize themselves from clinical descriptions or case reports if their details have not been made sufficiently anonymous
It is the author's responsibility to seek informed patient consent where necessary, using the Patient Consent Form.

Presentation of photocopied material with your manuscript

All material must correspond to its description in the source list/acknowledgements and should not be a version taken from a different source.
Each item should ideally be accompanied by the title page and copyright page of the publication from which it was taken.
If an article is being excerpted in any way, please indicate clearly which pages are to be reproduced. Mark the start and finish point of each excerpt, clearly striking through any material (this may include original notes or references) to be deleted.
Where notes or reference material were originally published at the end of the book please ensure that this, too, is photocopied and added to the article.
Please photocopy so that the original page numbering is included. All previously published material must be reproduced so that only one previously published page appears on each photocopy. This helps ensure the material is marked up, and rekeyed accurately.

When is permissions clearance complete?

Although you should make every effort to clear copyright, there are occasions when a book must go to press, despite the fact that some permission requests have not been answered. In this case you should insert a standard disclaimer at the beginning and end of your list of acknowledgements:

"The author/editor and publisher gratefully acknowledge the permission granted to reproduce the copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions in the above list and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book."

Creating an acknowledgements list

The source list you initially prepare will also form the basis of the Acknowledgements page.
You should supply a complete acknowledgements list for any material you are clearing along with the final manuscript. This should be numbered in the order that the material appears in the script, as this will allow in-house staff to double-check quickly that each piece that needs clearance has been cleared before we put the book into production.
Please indicate clearly if there is any material for which you are still waiting for permission