Locating Copyright Holders

[Stephan Bobb]

Locating Copyright Holders


By Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin

Getting Permission


If you intend to use someone's copyrighted work, unless the use is considered a fair use, you must obtain that person's written permission. Under federal copyright law, only the copyright owner or someone acting with the owner's authority, such as a publisher, can grant that permission. While not every unauthorized use of a copyrighted work is an infringement, whenever you use another person's words, illustrations, photographs, charts or graphs in your own work you must be sensitive to the risk of infringing that individual's copyright.

The following information is provided to help you plan your permission strategy and locate copyright holders more easily. For a more detailed approach, consult The Copyright Permission & Libel Handbook, by Jassin & Schechter (John Wiley & Sons).

Where to Begin. Begin your search with the copyright notice. The copyright notice identifies who owns the copyright. However, the copyright owner does not always have the authority to grant you permission. For permission to quote from a book, you must contact the publisher’s rights department. If the publisher has gone out of business, or the book is out of print, you’ll need to trace the author by doing a copyright search or contacting one of the authors’ organizations listed below.

It Takes Time. The permission process should begin when you start researching and preparing your work. Permission requests are often ignored, denied or lost. Unless the use is considered a fair use, your work cannot be published without proper permissions.

Use Common Sense. All sources of material you’ve borrowed or quoted from should be flagged and identified. Knowing where a particular quote, passage, or photograph came from will save you hours of work later on. And, remember, there may be multiple copyright owners of the material you want to use.


Locating Copyright Holders

Useful links and postal addresses to assist you identify and locate rights holders:

I. Trade & Professional Groups (A-Z)
II. Licensing Organizations & Searchable Databases
a) Authors
b) Photographers
c) Songwriters
d) Visual Artists
e) Motion Pictures
III. Online Copyright Permission Pages
a) Book Publishers
b) Playwrights
c) Magazines & Journals
IV. Search Copyright & Trademark Office Records
a) Search Copyright Office Records
b) Search Trademark Office Records
c) Intellectual Property Research Firms
V. Miscellaneous
Find A Grave
Online Telephone Directories
Vital Records (United States)


I. TRADE AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Advertising Photographers of America(APA)
PO Box 361309
Los Angeles, CA 90036
800-272-6264 (Tel.)
www.apanational.org

American Federation of Musicians (AF of M)
1501 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
212-869-1330 (Tel.)
www.afm.org

American Medical Writers Association.
40 West Gude Drive, Suite 101
Rockville MD 20850-1192
301-294-5303 (Tel.)
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.amwa.org

American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
1501 Broadway, Ste. 302
New York, NY 10036
212-997-0947 (Tel.)
www.asja.org

American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
150 North Second Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-451-ASMP (Tel.)
215-451-0880 (Fax)
http://www.asmp.org

The American Society of Picture Professionals
409 S. Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22134
703-299-0219 (Tel.)
703-299-0219 (Fax)
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.aspp.com

Association of American Publishers (AAP)
71 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003-3004
www.publishers.org

Association of Authors' Representatives, Inc.
P.O. Box 237201
Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10003
www.aar-online.org

The Authors Guild
31 East 28^th Street, 10^th floor
New York, NY 10016
212-563-5904 (Tel.)
[e-mail]
www.authorsguild.org

Dog Writers Association of America, Inc.
DWAA, Secretary
173 Union Road
Coatesville, PA 19320
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.dwaa.org

The Dramatists Guild
110 West 44th Street, 7th floor
New York, NY 10036
212-398-9366 (Tel.)
www.dramaguild.com/

Graphic Artists Guild (GAG)
90 John Street
New York, NY 10038-3202
212-791-0330 (Tel.)
www.gag.org

Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA)
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2309
New York, NY 10118-6293
212-244-1944 (Tel.)
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.licensing.org

Magazine Publishers of America
919 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022-3901
212-872-3700 (Tel.)
www.magazine.org

Museum Digital Library Collection
41 East 11 Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10023
212-331-1140
www.museumlicensing.org

National Association of Black Journalists
University of Maryland
8701-A Adelphi Road
Adelphi, Md. 20783-1716
301-445-7100 (Tel.)
www.nabj.org

National Cartoonists Society (NCS)
10 Columbus Circle, #1620
New York, NY 10019
212-627-1550 (Tel.)
www.reuben.org

National Writers Union (NWU)
National Office East
113 University Pl. 6th Fl.
New York, NY 10003
212-254-0279 (Tel.)
212-254-0673 (Fax)
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.nwu.org

Mystery Writers of America
17 E. 47th St., 6th floor
New York NY 10017
212-888-8171 (Tel.)
212-888-8107 (Fax)
[e-mail]
www.mysterywriters.org

PEN American Center
568 Broadway
New York, NY 10012-3225
212-334-1660 (Tel.)
[e-mail] (e-mail)
www.pen.org

Picture Agency Council of America (PACA)
P.O. Box 308
Northfield, MN 55057-0308
P.O. Box 308
800-457-PACA (7222) (Tel.)
www.stockindustry.org

Publishers Marketing Association (PMA)
627 Aviation Way
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310-372-2732 (Tel.)
www.pma-online.org

Romance Writers of America
16000 Stuebner Airline Rd., Ste 140