Copyright requires you to obtain the author's permission before using their work. In some cases, you may be asked to pay usage fees.

Consider the following hypothetical scenarios. In each, manuscript researchers have failed to seek the required permission of copyright holders.

Scenario #1: A researcher publishes an article in which he quotes main ideas from a letter written by Paul Green. He cites the collection and author and only uses a few phrases, but he does not contact the copyright owner.

Scenario #2: A student posts an image of a Charles Alston drawing on her website. She does not contact the copyright owner because she thinks it is "fair use" to use the image for a class project.

Scenario #3: A music enthusiast receives a research copy of 1930s fiddle music from the Southern Folklife Collection. He assumes that the fiddlers are deceased and that the material is too old to be covered by copyright. He burns compact disc copies and distributes them to his friends.

These scenarios illustrate some essential points about copyright:

• Citing the source is not a substitute for getting permission.
  You may still be infringing on copyright even in cases where you have provided proper credit for your sources. You should make every attempt to contact the copyright holder when you use someone's work or ideas.
• Do not assume that your use of materials is "fair use."
  Copyright law provides "fair use" exceptions that support education and research. However, an educational or research purpose alone does not constitute fair use.
• Use may require permission regardless of your publication intentions. You may still be infringing on copyright even if you are not formally publishing or broadcasting the work.
• Even use of small portions may require permission.
  You may still be infringing on copyright even in cases where you have used only a small portion of an author's work. Copyright law does not provide any specific quantities of material you can safely use without permission.
• Even "old" materials may still be protected under copyright.
  As a general rule, copyright extends at least seventy years after the death of an author. When the author dies, copyright is often automatically transferred to his heirs.

Copyright law can be perplexing, particularly in determining your obligations as a user of copyright protected material. Additionally, it can be nearly impossible to find the copyright holder of unpublished works, but you should make every reasonable attempt to do so. For your own protection, you should act responsibly and document your good-faith efforts to get permission. For more information, consult the U.S. Copyright Office.