additions, modifications) and initial them. Send two signed copies to the licensor, and ask the licensor to send back to you with his or her signature.
Licensors sometimes will not send back the amended agreement. Therefore, in your cover letter and on the agreement itself, write that if the licensor provides the product after you mailed the amended agreement, you understand that the licensor has assented to your terms.
Permissions
Up to this point, when we have discussed licenses, we have meant contracts with publishers for journal and database subscriptions. However, "license" is also another name for permission from a copyright owner. If you want to use a work in a way that requires permission, your first job is to contact the right person who can grant permission.
Most copyrighted works have copyright notices identifying the copyright owner. Search online for the copyright owner's contact information. If you find the owner, send them a letter explaining what you want to use and how you plan to use it. We provide a sample permission letter in Appendix I.
If you cannot find the owner mentioned in the copyright notice or she doesn't respond, next try contacting the publisher. The publisher might have current contact information for the author or have the power to grant you permission.
A third option is to check with collective licensing agencies.[1] These are private groups that gather licensing privileges from authors and publishers. They grant permissions on behalf of the copyright owners and distribute royalty payments. Collective licensing agencies provide a more centralized and convenient means of getting permission, but they exist to gather money for their members, so they virtually always charge fees for permission.
Collective licensing agencies tend to be organized by industry. The three major music agencies are ASCAP,[2] BMI,[3] and SESAC.[4] Each
- ↑ A good list of collective licensing agencies is available at http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/permissions/collective-licensing-agencies/.
- ↑ http://www.ascap.com/
- ↑ http://www.bmi.com/
- ↑ http://www.sesac.com/
