The Permissions Editor is largely responsible for securing permission for companion media content. Basically, if you asked for software to be included on your CD or Web site, the Permissions Editor will pursue those permissions for you. You, as the author, are responsible for pursing permissions for items that appear in your text - and in the accompanying screenshots.
What is the process for obtaining 3rd party permissions?- Determine if the material requires permission (see "What Material Requires Permission" below).
- Submit any material in question to your Editor for review. The editor will enlist the help of the Permissions Editor or the Legal Department for any questions or concerns that he or she cannot answer for you.
- Once the determination has been made that the material does require permission, the author is responsible for contacting the owner and requesting permission via Wiley's appropriate written permission agreement.
- If you are unable to obtain a signed agreement, the author needs to replace the material.
- Save all copies of the signed agreements, and send them to your editor once you have completed author review.
Basically, any copyrighted third-party material requires permission. Here is a list, followed by comments
SONG LYRICS
Generally, song lyrics cannot be reprinted without permission. Pursuing permission with music publishers generally takes 3-4 months and usually requires a licensing fee.
ANECDOTES
If the author writes about what some identifiable person believes, teaches, thinks, hopes, dreams, written permission should be secured prior to using the information. Please use the Materials Agreement for this situation. However, the author is free to write about his life experiences or research without permission from anyone as long as he states or clearly implies that he is writing about his own story.
If the author writes about any unpublished conversation and clearly identifies the parties involved by name, position, or any circumstance, written permission should be obtained prior to our including the information. Alternately, any identifying elements could be removed and the reference made more general and use it without permission.
INTERVIEWS
If an author conducts an interview with a person during the course of researching a book and includes specific information obtained in the interview, he/she should get permission to do so. Please use the either the Interview or the Quote agreement for this type of permission.
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE
Personal correspondence is protected by copyright. The creator of a letter (not the recipient) is the copyright owner. In order for Wiley to publish a private letter, we should have the copyright owner's permission. Please use either the Materials Agreement or the Quote Agreement in this situation.
TRADEMARKS
We can include trademarked terms in the text of the book without permission as long as the use of the term refers directly to the actual product.
Example: The <EMBED><embed> tag is widely used for adding all sorts of things to Web pages -- it's really the Superglue of HTML.We should NOT include trademarked terms in the text of the book without permission if the use of the term is not absolutely necessary or if the intended meaning would not change without the specific term present in the text.
Example: "Would you like a Kleenex?" would be better noted in the text as "Would you like a tissue?".The idea's original meaning is not lost without the use of the trademarked term. However, if the trademark is used in an editorial sense, the Legal Department, in conjunction with the Publisher, may determine that the trademark may be used and provide a legal annotation to the trademark.
Occasionally, we can use a trademarked term without referring to the actual product.
Example: We can use the e-mail term "spam" (lowercase "s"), but we cannot then show a picture or graphic of a can of Spam (the meat product by Hormel).Except as previously discussed, we don't use trademarks (TMor ®) with trademarked terms in the running text of the book. Wiley considers all pages between the covers of the book to be running text. In fact, we have a disclaimer as such in our front matter.
PHOTOGRAPHS of HARDWARE
If you are using photographs of specific products, such as computer hardware, printers, cameras, etc., and the brand name is clearly shown (i.e. a Dlink router or a Compaq Computer), then we need to obtain permission from that company in order to reproduce the picture in the text of our book. Please note: It is a better practice to hide or cover any brand- or manufacturer- identifying characteristics. If this is unavoidable and we must show the logo, brand, etc. in the photo, please use the Materials agreement in order to secure the necessary permission from the vendor.
COMPANY INFORMATION AND PUBLIC FIGURES
If we are publishing information about a recognizable entity (by recognizable, we mean "Would a reasonable person be able to identify the entity from the information we are providing?") or the representative of the entity, their philosophy, goals, success, failures...etc., we should ask ourselves the following questions:
- Is it relevant and necessary?
- Is this information accurate?
- If this information is objective, where did it come from?
- If it's subjective, is it derogatory or disparaging?
- Is the reference obviously fictitious and humorous?
TEXT
If the material is a logical listing of factual or statistical information, we can probably use the information without permission. One thing to note, while the list or statistics may not be copyrighted, the expression (i.e. format, arrangement, or presentation) of such information may be.
If the quoted material is a matter of public record (any court ruling, congressional debate record) or public knowledge (press releases, stockholders report), we can probably use the information without permission. However, be very careful with taking anything out of context from the original work. If companies or individuals are mentioned, permission may be required in order to re-publish the information.
If the material is a definition from a dictionary, a recipe from a cookbook, it is likely a material permissions agreement is required.
What kind of screenshot/art needs permission?Again, anything that shows copyrighted third-party material will require permissions. Websites are extremely complex, these days, so be careful.
WEB PAGES
We should always get permission from the owner of the web site at issue. (Please use the Web Page Agreement in this situation. This will cover material, such as photos and the web site owner's trademark, that appear in the screen shot.) Here are the guidelines to follow as set forth by Legal as of 10/1/2003:
- We can use screen shots of web sites so long as we get permission. However, we do not have to obtain permission for anything else contained in the website like trademarks, except perhaps photos which may be copyrighted.
- If a trademark is contained in the website, do we have to list anywhere in the work, like the front matter, who the trademark owner is? NO. AS LONG AS THE TRADEMARK IS NOT THE WEBSITE OWNER'S AND IS JUST USED IN THE SCREENSHOT (I.E. THE ISP OR AN ADVERTISER) AND THE SCREENSHOT IS JUST USED WITHIN THE TEXT (AS OPPOSED TO ON THE COVER OR IN ADVERTISING), WE DO NOT NEED TO PROVIDE A TRADEMARK NOTICE.
- If a trademark is contained in the screenshot, do we have to get permission from the trademark owner? NO. AS LONG AS THE TRADEMARK IS NOT THE WEBSITE OWNER'S AND IS JUST USED IN THE SCREENSHOT (I.E. THE ISP OR AN ADVERTISER) AND THE SCREENSHOT IS JUST USED WITHIN THE TEXT (AS OPPOSED TO ON THE COVER OR IN ADVERTISING), WE DO NOT NEED TO SECURE PERMISSION TO INCLUDE THE TRADEMARK.
- If there is a photo of a famous person in the screen shot, like Nicole Kidman, do we have to get permission or blur out her picture? NO. AS LONG AS THE PHOTO IS JUST USED IN THE SCREENSHOT AND THE SCREENSHOT IS JUST USED WITHIN THE TEXT (AS OPPOSED TO ON THE COVER OR IN ADVERTISING), WE DO NOT NEED TO SECURE PERMISSION TO INCLUDE THE PHOTO OF THE PERSON. HOWEVER, IF THE PHOTO IS NOTED WITH AN OWNER THAT IS NOT THE OWNER OF THE WEBSITE, SUCH AS AP OR GETTY, THEN A PHOTO PERMISSION IS REQUIRED FROM THE OWNER OF THE PHOTO.
Usually, screen shots of the following types of Web pages can be included without express written permission:
- Government sites
- Directory-type sites (compilations, listings, etc.)
NOTE: If the site in question defines their permission to distribute their information to the public on certain parameters, and if such information is available, you should follow the respective guidelines for use.
Avoid using the following Web sites:
- Screen shots of sites containing real names, contact information, email addresses, and user IDs, etc.
- Sites containing content that probably wasn't created by the Web site owner, such as ATT.net (which gathers it's news from Reuters) or a fan website that has pictures of copyrighted album covers, etc.
CARTOONS, CLIP ART & OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
We generally require permission to include these items. However, clip art can be one exception. If the author, or Wiley, is a registered owner of a particular clip art package, we can probably include screen shots from it without a separate agreement. However, as mentioned previously, if permissions guidelines are known to exist for a particular entity, you should check such guidelines before utilizing the material. Wiley should verify that the right to publish and distribute the clip art as part of a work is covered in the program's EULA.
If Wiley has contracted with a photographer or artist under a work-for-hire agreement and all necessary rights have been obtained, additional permission is not required. Wiley holds copyright to any material created under a work-for-hire agreement contracted by Wiley.
If Wiley or the author of a book takes photographs for a project, in addition to a Photo Permission Agreement or a work-for-hire agreement, we should obtain a model release form signed by each of the models. Please use the Model Release form to secure these permissions.
Ideally, the author should provide line drawings of illustrations to an illustrator. The illustrator, under a work-for-hire agreement with Wiley, should then create the illustration based on the line drawing.
In the event that we use scrap art to create illustrations, extreme caution should be used. The illustrator should study and review the art, review any modifications requested by the author, put the drawings away and create an original drawing. Scrap art should be used for occasional reference only.
In some situations, some illustrations that are extremely basic may be considered "facts." While the expression of those facts may be protected by copyright, the basic elements are not and can be used without permission.
