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Part II: Writing and Submitting Your Manuscript

Who Owns What?

Obtaining Permission to Use Copyrighted Material

It is beyond the scope of this tutorial to address all the issues involved in using copyrighted materials in a scholarly article. The first rule of thumb is to assume that almost any work established in a tangible medium (paper, CD, canvas, VCR tape, DVD, the Web) is protected by copyright, regardless of whether the copyright symbol © is attached. The biggest exception is works in the public domain—works produced by the federal government or works whose copyright protection has expired.

Your main concern as a writer is to make sure that you have permission from the copyright holder to use original material in your article. This would include, among other things, the use of a chart, graph, table, image, or a substantial piece of a textual work. Many journals require that you submit a letter of permission from the copyright holder along with your manuscript covering any copyrighted materials you use.

For further help in navigating the tricky waters of copyright, check out the Crash Course in Copyright website from the University of Texas.

Another fun resource for learning about copyright issues is a comic book created by the Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Tales from the Public Domain: Bound by Law? features a spiky-haired super heroine named Akiko, a filmmaker by day who fights for fair use by night.

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