This information is provided for your interest; please be assured that Copyright Clearance will seek permissions and pay royalties only for items that require it, so it is safe to report a title for clearance if you are in any doubt.

What Needs Copyright Clearance?

Almost anything that could be placed on a Web page -- any tangible intellectual product -- may be subject to the protection of copyright. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Articles published in journals, newspapers, etc.
• Books, and chapters of books
• Letters (including emails), manuscripts, and other unpublished writings
• Photographs, paintings, drawings, and other graphic arts
• Music (including scores and recordings)
• Films, videos, etc.

However, not every copyrighted work will need permission. For example:

• Your own unpublished work may of course be placed on your course page, since you own the copyright
• Your own published work may be included if (and only if) you retained the copyright. (If you assigned copyright to your publisher, it may be necessary to pay to use your own work.)
• Works in the public domain, either by express assignment or through lapse of copyright, may be freely used. (See the chart WHEN WORKS PASS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN by Lolly Gasaway for a nice summary of this complex determination.)
• U.S. official government publications can be used without permission.
• Any item for which Vanderbilt has licensed access can be used, subject to the terms of the license. This means that articles in the Library's electronic journals and electronic books collections may be linked to your online course page, so long as access restrictions are not compromised. (The same items would require permissions if they were scanned locally instead of linked.)

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