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Seeking permissions to use copyrighted content used to be a time-intensive ordeal but email has streamlined the process in many cases, and one may receive a reply much quicker than ever before.

Determining the Copyright Holder

Still, there are important steps to take when seeking permissions, such as finding and verifying who the actual copyright holder may be, as it is not always the original author or creator. This is very important for content that is found online, as the authorship may be questionable.

Asking for Permissions

When asking for permissions, it is important to clearly state the proposed use of the content and the timeframe for the use.  If you are going to post content online or copy to distribute, you will need to state those purposes.

Who Provides Permissions?

The most common licensing agency for textual content is the Copyright Clearance Center; they provide permissions based upon pay-per-use. See the link below for more information about how that process works.  For films and movies, you will want first to determine who the production company is and then determine which movie licensing company controls those permissions. See the list of licensing agencies for movies below.

When is Permission Not Necessary?

Keep in mind that permission is not necessary if:

• your use is within fair use or another copyright limitation;
• the work is not protected by copyright at all; or
• your use is within the terms of a license agreement, including, for example, a  license from the author.

Steps for Getting Permissions

(Source: CC BY.  Dr. Kenneth D. Crews (formerly of Columbia University Libraries))

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The right of public performance is one of the exclusive rights of a copyright holder. Public performance rights will need to be purchased for screening films outside of the face-to-face classroom unless they are in the Public Domain or otherwise not covered by a copyright. One may not assume that a film is in the Public Domain, due diligence and a good faith effort is necessary to determine the copyright status of a film. One should be able to document the copyright status and or that PPR has been purchased to be in compliance when screening films.

Listed below are vendors who sell movies with PPR; these are mostly educational videos/DVDs.

Movie Licensing

• SWANK Motion Pictures Inc.
  
• Criterion Pictures USA