- Unless you went to law school,
trying to figure out what you're allowed to use in your book
and what you're not allowed to reproduce
is a complicated aspect of copyright law.
If you're wondering when you need permission
to reprint something in your book
and how to get it, then this video is for you.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Julie the Book Broad of Book Launchers,
your professional self-publishing services team.
Now the first thing I need to cover is a serious disclaimer.
I did not go to law school
nor am I a copyright expert, per se.
If you really need copyright advice,
please consult with a copyright attorney.
For general guidance, this video should do the trick.
Non-fiction books usually rely on other people's work
for reference or research,
but you can't just directly copy
or quote anything you want in your book.
If you've written a high school research paper,
this probably isn't breaking news to you.
You've probably already found out
that doesn't go over very well.
Citing a source is an important first step,
but depending on what you're reprinting in your book,
you might need to seek explicit legal permission
from the creator.
Citing the source may not be enough to make it okay.
Let's start with what you don't need permission to reprint
and that includes anything within the public domain,
and this doesn't just include text.
Public domain includes images, artwork, music, and film.
For the most part, material published before 1926
now has a new home in the public domain.
But it's not just older content up for grabs.
If a content creator waives their copyright,
that content can then become part
of the public domain under Creative Commons,
like stock photos, for instance.
You can access the public domain online to browse
or check to make sure what you can reprint is included.
Now there could be limitations on some of that
so make sure you're reading the fine print,
wherever you are.
I got a little floaty in my eye
and it's making it hard to see.
(test tone)
You're also not infringing on anyone's copyright
when you state widely agreed upon facts
like how many countries are in Europe
or how many nickels in $7.
50 countries and 140 nickels, in case you were curious.
You can also freely mention a place, event, title,
or a name of someone else
without needing a permission to do so.
But if you're going to directly quote
or use content from a title or author,
the rules start to get a little murky.
A confusing copyright caveat
decides whether citation or permission is the way to go
called fair use.
The fair use of a copyrighted work
including such use by reproduction in copies
for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching, scholarship, or research
is not an infringement of copyright.
To put it simply and a little bit less dryly, you're allowed
to legally reprint a portion of a work in your book
so long as you're doing more with it
than copying and calling it a day.
Exploring a phrase to deepen your own point,
countering a statement to defend your own opinion,
or including another creator's thoughts
to teach your readers,
that all falls under fair use.
Now you still need to include citations
to credit others for their work.
You'll be part of the uncool authors club
if you fail to cite your references.
No one wants to be part of the uncool authors club, right?
Not you. (laughs)
All right, you know who else
is part of the uncool authors club?
Anyone who watches this video
but doesn't hit the Like button.
(crickets chirping)
Again, you don't wanna be part of that uncool author club
so smash that Like button.
There's no number of words or characters set in stone
when it comes to quoting another published work.
Everywhere you look,
you're likely to find a different quantity given
for how much of someone's work you can quote
with a simple citation, rather than legal permission.
Even in actual case law, there's no definition.
Some publishers make their own rule for this.
But when you're self-publishing,
this is your own judgment call to make.
The important factor in fair use law to consider
is the amount and substantiality of the portion used
in relation to the work as a whole.
The amount of content
you pull or quote from the original work
needs to make sense when compared with your overall purpose.
You can't simply quote an entire speech
or somebody's entire chapter
without having a pretty darn good reason to do so.
It's safer to stick
with the least amount of content you need
to get your point across.
So what should you do?
If your use of content isn't covered under fair use
or you're just not sure,
your first step is to identify the copyright
or licensing to the work.
Sometimes that's pretty obvious, but not always.
A good starting point is the source of the material.
Don't just find a quote on the BuzzFeed Top 10 List
and think it's attributed to the correct person
because a lotta times, it's not.
When it comes to attributions,
the internet is pretty much the Wild, Wild West
so do your research and discover the actual source
to find a path to get to your permission.
If you're quoting a book, this is pretty simple.
Just check the copyright page to find the rights holder.
It might be trickier to get in contact with them,
but a good jumping off point is the publisher listed
or the literary agent.
For smaller publications, academic journals,
or other self-published authors,
the path might be a little bit more complex.
You might need to reach out to multiple people
and follow up on different inquiries to get an answer.
This goes for photos as well.
Do your research
to track down where that photo first appeared.
Newspaper, magazine, online publication,
especially bigger companies like New York Times
or the Hearst.
They might have a licensing department
that you can contact through phone or email
or send in an application in order to gain permission
to reprint one of those photos.
Again, small companies or publications
such as non-profits or university presses
might require multiple calls or inquiries
to different people.
Also keep in mind that if a photo features a model
or a trademarked product,
you might have to seek a release from that person
or that trademark owner,
along with permission from the copyright owner
of the photo itself.
Starts to sound a lot easier
to use a different photo, doesn't it? (laughs)
But if you really need it, that's what ya need to do.
After you identify the source,
you'll wanna ask for their permission in writing.
Make sure to note the name and creator of the work
along with any other helpful identifiers you might know
such as ISBN format or release date.
And include how much of the work
you plan to reprint and copy of it.
It's also helpful
to explain where the content will be reprinted,
so include details about your book
that you have at that point,
including title, your own ISBN,
and your impending or ideal release date.
Ask for the non-exclusive rights
to reprint the mentioned amount of work
in whatever format it will appear.
Print, electronic, audiobook, so forth.
Be aware that obtaining permissions for your book
can often come with a price.
The amount ultimately is up to the copyright holder
and it varies,
but if you're heavily quoting multiple works in your book
and doing so at length, expect to pay a pretty penny.
If the price tag is too much
or this is just too much work,
I suggest you scrap the content completely,
paraphrase, and settle on a citation,
or create your own graphic instead of reprinting a picture.
There's also the option of finding a skilled fact checker
who can run down the firsthand information
and maybe even get the approval process started for you
if the whole process seems a little daunting
to take on alone.
That's why we have
a fabulous fact checker and researcher on our team
to help our clients with that.
Now I give you permission to hit Subscribe
and turn those notifications on.
And since you're sticking around,
YouTube thinks you'll like this video.
And if YouTube is wrong, then this one
on using graphs, tables, and images in your book
is definitely a good one to watch after this.
Either way,
I'll be there hanging out with my YouTube besties
like the people in the cool author club
like Brian Kreeger, Rachel Robertson, Poetry from the Heart,
Andy W, Kevin Maguire, Brian K Morris,
and so many other great folks that comment on every video.
You guys are awesome.
See you when I see you on the next video.
(upbeat music)