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You may be asked to supply copies of any emails or letters granting permission to reuse material, and it is your responsibility to obtain and retain this documentation as a condition of your publishing agreement with Cambridge.
You need to request permission to reuse any material for which you are not the copyright holder. This can include anything created, published, owned, held or produced by a third party, but also other published material that you authored, as the original publisher may hold the copyright or the rights of reproduction.
Material from the internet
Please be aware that even if a copyright notice is not displayed, content on websites is still protected by copyright and so permission to reuse material will need to be obtained from the copyright holder.
No – just as you need permission to reproduce copyright-protected material, you also need permission to edit or adapt it, so redrawing or making cosmetic changes are not permitted without the consent of the copyright holder.
Gold Open Access content is published under Creative Commons licences, allowing it to be widely shared and reused by anyone. If your manuscript is to be published Gold Open Access, you will have to make sure all of the permissions requested from third-party copyright holders include the non-exclusive right to use their materials in the open access version of your publication. We have provided a template below that you can use to request permission to use third-party materials in an open access publication.
This will depend on the details of the permissions that you were originally granted. If you choose to convert your publication to open access after publication, or even after submission, you will need to review the permissions the copyright holder granted you, and determine whether or not they permit you to include their material in an open access publication. If not, then you will need to request further permissions from the copyright holder.
This will depend on several factors, such as whether you plan to apply a Creative Commons licence when depositing your publication, whether the repository is a commercial entity, and details of the permissions that you have been granted by any third-party copyright holders. You will need to review the permissions the copyright holder granted you, and determine whether or not they permit you to share their material in the way you would like to.
If there is a chance that a Creative Commons licence might be applied to your publication in the future, we recommend that you ask copyright holders for permission to include their material in an open access publication using one of the "Gold Open Access inclusive" templates below. If you are publishing a book that will be part of Cambridge’s Flip it Open programme, you must obtain this permission before initial publication of your book.
Usually the publisher of the original work holds the copyright, unless explicitly stated otherwise. We recommend that you approach the original publisher first, and they will inform you if you need to contact the author or an alternative rightsholder.
Most publishers have forms on their websites that can be completed electronically, or use automated electronic permissions services like Rightslink® to grant permissions automatically online.
If no electronic form or service is available, you must send an email or letter to the copyright holder. We have provided templates for requesting permissions below, depending on whether you are requesting permission to apply a Creative Commons licence to your publication and publish it Gold Open Access.
Even if written permission is not required, you must fully acknowledge the original source of any material where you do not hold copyright. The copyright holder will inform you if they require any specific wording for this acknowledgement. For figures or tables from third parties, you should place this acknowledgement at the end of the caption.
As an author it is your responsibility to obtain all necessary permissions and pay any related fees to reuse material where you do not hold copyright. You will be asked to confirm you have done so as a condition of signing your publishing agreement, and you may be asked to send us a copy of any permission statements, before or after publication. It is your responsibility to obtain and retain this documentation as a condition of your publishing agreement with Cambridge.
We have provided sample templates below that you may use as a basis for requesting permission to use third-party materials in your publication. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you obtain all necessary permissions.
Please choose from the templates below, depending on whether you are planning to publish a journal article or a book, and whether you intend to make your publication Gold Open Access under a Creative Commons licence.