How to Obtain Permission to Publish Material on a Website

To publish material created by another person or company on your website, you must first obtain permission from the rightful owner. This applies to articles, photos, artwork, logos and slogans, all of which are usually copyrighted.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Identity of the material's legal owner

Obtain Permission to Publish Material on Your website

1. Find out who the rightful owner of the material actually is. If you find a photo or article on a blog or website, the site may have borrowed the content from another source. Try to find the original owner of the material.
2. Check out the website (if it has one) of the company that owns the material. If the content came from a magazine or established company, directions to obtain reprint permission may be listed right on the website. It might be as simple as an email contact or a lengthy online form you will need to fill out.
3. Call the company that owns the material and ask to speak to someone about reprint permission. It's usually faster to call, get the proper contact info and to find out exactly what information the company needs instead of waiting for an email response.
4. Send an email to the contact listed on the website. A short note explaining your website and how you want to use the material will usually suffice.
5. Send a letter. If you can only find a snail mail address, send a letter asking if you can publish the material on your website. Once you have established a connection, you may have an easier time obtaining permission to use content from the same company in the future.
6. Put it in writing. Even if permission is granted over the phone, you should follow up with at least a quick email. You will want to retain some written form of the permission after you publish the material, just in case a dispute arises later.

Tips & Warnings

• Usually, you will need to include a byline or endnote listing the owner, photographer or writer with a link back to the original website. Most companies will have specific wording that they will want used.
• If you can't find a contact name, check to see who registered the domain. If the domain is not private, try contacting the owner with an email or phone call.
• If you publish material on your website without first obtaining permission, you may end up with a "cease and desist" letter asking you to remove the content.