MID Thesis Guide

Respecting copyright — and understanding the basics of copyrighted-related issues — is an important aspect of your thesis-writing process and an issue that will continue to arise throughout your academic and creative career.

Copyright law protects “original” works that are “fixed” in some medium, which includes anything written on paper, stored on a computer drive, sculpted in clay, or recorded on tape or other media. That means that there are two main copyright issues related to your thesis:

1. Using the works of others in your thesis
2. Managing the copyright of your thesis

This section will address both issues, starting with using the works of others.

We know copyright can be intimidating and confusing. While it isn't necessary for you to be a copyright expert, it is essential that you understand copyright issues as they relate to including and referencing the work(s) of others in your thesis. This guide will walk you through the basics, and the DI Librarians are happy to provide further assistance if you need it.

Note: Use of a copyright notice to secure copyright protection is no longer required under U.S. law. For works published on or after March 1, 1989, use of the copyright notice is optional. Therefore, the absence of a copyright notice does not mean that a work can be freely copied, adapted, distributed, publicly displayed, or performed. (U.S. Copyright Office)

In general, permission is required to reproduce any work or portion of a work created by another person, unless it falls under the fair use provisions of copyright law, is in the public domain, or is not copyrightable material. As the author, it is your responsibility to avoid copyright infringement.

It is your responsibility to identify all third-party materials in your thesis, ranging from ordinary quotations to full reproductions of photographs, architectural plans, and any other copyrightable material. You will need to consider copyright clearance for each of these items.

As you consider which third-party materials to include in your thesis, we recommend the following:

1. Use open access works and/or works covered by Creative Commons Licenses.
2. Ensure your use of copyrighted materials counts as "fair use" (in other words, repurpose, reinterpret, or otherwise "transform" the copyrighted work in question).
3. Request permission for copyrighted works.
4. Remove potentially problematic materials entirely from your thesis.

We recommend you follow the above guidelines in the order that they're listed; that is, seek out open access works first to avoid any potential copyright infringements. If you are unable to do so, seek fair use for copyrighted materials. If these strategies are unsuccessful, your last resort may be to request permission for copyrighted work[s], or to remove problematic third party content from your thesis entirely if this option fails. The following three subpages — Open Access Images, Fair Use, and Requesting Permission for Copyrighted Materials — breaks each of these issues down into greater detail.