Permission to reproduce copyright material
It is an author's responsibility to obtain permission to use copyright material and to bear any associated costs. Permission should be sought in all cases where doubt exists.
Under Australian copyright law, you may need to obtain permission to reproduce extracts of text, including poems, and other material such as graphs and tables created by someone other than yourself. You must obtain permission to reproduce a "substantial part" of any written work protected by copyright. This usually means about 250 words taken from a medium-length book, but includes any shorter extract that summarises the crux of the original author's argument or research.
Short quotations from poems can be a "substantial part", and permission should be sought. Permission must be obtained for the use of tables, diagrams, charts, music, photographs, advertisements and illustrations that are protected by copyright.
Copyright permissions can take weeks or even months to obtain, especially from overseas publishers, so do not leave this task until the manuscript is completed.
Further information
Read chapter 12 of the Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 5th edition, AGPS, Canberra, 1994.
Consult the Copyright Council (Australia).
Authors commonly seek permissions from institutions including PictureAustralia and the National Archive of Australia. The NAA fact sheet on Copyright contains some useful information.
Permission to reproduce federal government material is granted by the office of Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. Their copyright request form is available here.
Contact
For enquiries regarding permission to reproduce MUP copyrighted content, email mup-info@unimelb.edu.au.
