Expect getting permission to take anywhere from one to three months. Permission should be obtained before you complete your work, as it is sometimes more difficult and more expensive to obtain permission after your thesis is complete. If the copyright owner becomes aware that you have a vested interest in obtaining permission (for example, your thesis has already been submitted), the price may rise. Also, if you can’t obtain permission, you’ll have to redo your work, which is expensive and time-consuming. The best policy is to start seeking all required permissions as soon as possible.
The first step to requesting permissions is to find the copyright owner. Sometimes, this task is simple. Often, you may be able to locate the rights owner just by looking at the copyright notice on the work. For example, if the notice reads “Copyright 1998, Jones Publishing,” you would start by finding the Jones Publishing company. Sometimes, more detailed research is required. Copyright ownership may have passed through several hands since your copy of the work was published.
To determine the copyright owner, you may need to contact:
If you found a text or image in a published source, check for credit lines in image captions, on the copyright page, in the acknowledgements, and in the endnotes. Some books have a “Credits and Permissions” page at the back. Begin by contacting the person or institution named in the courtesy or credit line. This party may only be the source of the image, rather than the copyright holder, but in that case they may be able to refer you to the actual rightsholder.
If no other sources are listed, then you should begin your inquiries by contacting the publisher to see if there are any records on file.
Some works may require permission from two or more rightsholders. For example, using a photograph of a sculpture may require permission from both the sculptor and the photographer if both are in copyright.
AUPresses has very helpful information about requesting permissions in their FAQ:
Places to look when trying to identify copyright owners:
The next step in getting permission is to identify the rights you need. Each copyright owner controls a bundle of rights related to the work, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and modify the work. Because so many rights are associated with copyrighted works, you must specify the rights you need. This can be as simple as stating your intended use; for example, you want to reproduce a photograph in your thesis. Depending on the work and how you want to use it, you may need to provide some or all of the following information:
TERM OF USE: The length of time for which you are allowed to use a work is often referred to as the “term.” Your rights under a permission agreement will often be limited in duration. For example, if you are licensing the right to display a photograph on a website, the copyright owner may limit the length of your use to one year. Alternatively, you might obtain what’s called a “one-time use,” meaning you can only use the material in one edition of a magazine, not in subsequent editions. If there is no express limitation on the use, you are allowed to use the material for as long as you want or until the copyright owner revokes the permission. Some agreements prohibit the copyright owner from revoking rights by granting permission “irrevocably.” Sometimes an agreement states that it is “in perpetuity,” which means that rights are granted without time limits. In reality, the copyright owner can only grant permission for as long as the owner’s copyright protection lasts. After that, anyone can use the material without permission.
Digital content may be reproduced in a variety of qualities or resolutions. Negotiate the quality of the reproduction with the rights holder to avoid a future complaint by them and possible allegation of moral rights infringement (right of integrity).
If you're adapting the content at all or digitizing traditional content, ensure the rights holder is fully aware of your use of the content and agrees with what you're doing with it.
Negotiate Payment
Although many uses of works may be free, you should usually expect to pay something, even just a minimal fee, for copyright permission. Sometimes, the owner of the work will not require payment if the amount you wish to use is small, or if the owner wishes to contribute to an educational or nonprofit effort.
If permission is granted then you can use the material, but remember to always cite the original copyright owner!
Get It in Writing: Relying on an oral agreement or understanding is almost always a mistake. You and the rights owner may have misunderstood each other or remembered the terms of your agreement differently. This can lead to disputes. If you have to go to court to enforce your unwritten agreement, you’ll have difficulty proving exactly what the terms are. Get written permission agreements; do not rely on oral agreements. Save permission agreements in a safe and reliable place.
If permission is not granted then you can not use the material.
In your thesis, include a credit line stating that you have permission to use the work. For example, you might add a credit line like this to an image caption:
Note. From Title of Book (p. 103), by A.N. Author and C.O. Author, 1994, Place of Publication: Publisher. Copyright 1994 by the Name of Copyright Holder. Reprinted with permission.