The following resources are a partial list of where to begin searching for permission to copy or use copyrighted work. Whenever it is unclear who the owner is, or if the owner is a legal entity of some kind (a business or organization), be sure that the person granting permission is authorized to do so. Once it is known whom to ask, initiate contact by writing a letter, calling, or emailing. Seek written permission that clearly describes its scope. Document the receipt of an oral permission and send the owner a confirming letter. A copyright protects materials regardless of whether the owner cares about protection or not. Thus, if required permission cannot be obtained, the work may not be used.

1. For information regarding how to find copyright owners, contact the Writers Artists and Their Copyright Holders (WATCH) program through the University of Texas, Austin’s Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at research.hrc.utexas.edu/watch/. Phone: 512/471-8944, Fax: 512/471-9646, Email: hrc.utexas.edu/contact/. 

2. For a part of a book or a journal article, contact: Copyright Clearance Center, “CCC” Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, Phone: 978/750-8400, Fax: 978/646-8600 Email: info@copyright.com, copyright.com.

3. For images, contact: The Film Foundation, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, 6th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90046, Phone: 303/436-5060, Fax: 323/436-5061, Email: film-foundation.org; American Society of Media Photographers, 150 North Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, Phone: 215/451-2767, Fax: 215/451-0880, Email: asmp.org.

4. If the author owns the copyright in a contribution to a periodical, magazine, or newspaper, permission may be obtained through The National Writers Union, PO Box 2424, Chicago, IL 60690, Phone: 312/924-1835, nwu.org; and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 8271 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, Phone: 323/782-1010, Fax: 323/782-1892, Email: scbwi@scbwi.org, scbwi.org.

5. For a musical work, contact: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, (ASCAP) One Lincoln Plaza, New York, NY 10023, Phone: 212/621-6000, Email: ascap.com; Broadcast Music Incorporated, (BMI), 320 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3790, Phone: 212/586-2000, Email: bmi.com/home/licensing; or SESAC, 55 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203, Phone: 615/320-0055, Fax: 615/329-9627, Email: sesac.com.

6. To record and distribute a musical composition recorded by someone else, or synchronize music with visual images, contact: The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., National Music Publishers Association, 711 Third Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017, Phone: 212/370-5330, Fax: 646/ 487-6779, Email: harryfox.com, nmpa.org.

7. Play Rights

Samuel French, Inc.                Anchorage Press (Plays for young people)

45 West 25th Street                c/o Dramatic Publishing

New York, NY 10010-2751            311 Washington St.

Phone: 212/206-8990            Woodstock, IL 60098-3308

Fax: 212/206-1429                Phone/Fax: 800/448-7469

samuelfrench.com            customerservice@dpcplays.com 

                        applays.com 

Baker’s Plays                Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

c/o Samuel French, Inc.            440 Park Avenue South

45 W. 25th Street                New York, NY 10016

New York, NY 10010            Phone: 212/683-8960

Phone: 323/876-0579            Fax: 212/213-1539

Fax: 323/876-5482                dramatists.com

bakersplays.com            dramatists.com

1. For news archives, check the Web. Many of the largest news organizations have placed archives of their back issues online.

2. Movies

The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, 5455 Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066, Phone: 800/462-8855, Fax: 310/822-4440, Email: mplc.org/index/contactform, info@mplc.com, mplc.com, grants public performance rights. If the author and the publisher are known, contact them directly. If the publisher is unknown contact: The Literary Marketplace, literarymarketplace.com (for books) or Ulrich’s International Periodicals, ulrichsweb.com (for journals), both published by the R. R. Bowker Company, bowker.com.

1. Changed Owner

The apparent copyright owner may not be the real copyright owner. The U.S. Copyright Office of Internet Resources, loc.gov/copyright, provides online searching of its registration records and performs professional searches for a fee.

1. Software

Contact the software’s manufacturer at the address given on the licensing agreement.