Analysis and news
A confused author’s views on copyright C B Lucas discusses the laborious problems of obtaining permission from publishers and authors to republish diagrams and photographs
Until recently, graphs and diagrams for publication had to be drawn in black Indian ink on tracing paper or white card at about twice the final published size. Shading could not be employed and so cross- hatching was used, for example to indicate solid areas. Considerable in-house work was then needed by the publishers to add any lettering and then use process engraving to produce the final blocks used for printing. An example is shown in figure 1, which shows a component of apparatus. The introduction of computer software
for making diagrams enables scalable vector graphics (SVG) files to be produced. I used the freeware program Inkscape and after only a little practice I was able to draw diagrams such as figure 2. I expect you agree that the use of graduated shading and a pattern makes the diagram clearer and more interesting. I have produced a set of diagrams that
are consistent throughout my book, with their own labelling to suit my text and with unwanted detail removed. For example, the atomic beam in figure 2 is shown as a dotted circle emitted to the right, so that it is consistent with other diagrams. I also designed my own patterns to indicate other liquids, such as liquid helium and the solid material to be evaporated from ovens in vacuum. It is important to appreciate that no line on figure 2 has been directly derived from figure 1. My diagrams have been designed
for monochrome reproduction, but the software can accommodate the ‘colour on-line’ now usually offered by journal publishers. If original photographs were not available, it is worth mentioning that I have used the freeware program Gimp to restore half-tone reproductions. This software can also do much more, such as improve contrast. The published results are indistinguishable from those obtained from original photographs.
Reproduction permission past and present I note that books I purchased in my early research career make no mention of
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whether permission had been obtained to reproduce diagrams and photographs that were first published in learned journals. More recent ones just use the acknowledgements section to provide a general list of sources of material used. When figure 2 was first published, permission was required from the copyright holder of figure 1, since my diagram is based on it. For republication in this article, permission to republish both figures has been obtained, since as author I transferred the copyright of figure 2 to the publisher, even though figure 2 is on my computer file and so is not copied from my book. To reproduce it here it was necessary also to acknowledge the original copyright holder. The figure captions are those required by the respective publishers who did, however, grant free republication without charge.
“Although figure 2 is similar to figure 1, it is such an improvement over it, that I consider it to be my original drawing”
It seems unlikely that any readers of this article are interested in the detail of the captions, so it is questionable whether they have to be included. You may be surprised, as I was, that to
use my figure 2 in my book, permission was needed from the copyright holder of figure 1. The same was true of nearly all my other redrawn diagrams that were based on published originals. The exceptions were a few from non-copyright sources. Although figure 2 is similar to figure 1, it is such an improvement over it, that I consider it to be my original drawing.
Why is permission necessary? The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) lists details of the exceptions to copyright that allow limited use of copyright works
without the permission of the copyright owner, for example for review and quotation. This is covered by ‘fair dealing’ which unfortunately is subjective and so relies on court cases rather than being defined in copyright legislation. If material affects the market for the original work and the amount used is excessive, then fair dealing does not apply. This is unlikely to apply to a diagram or two taken from an original paper. The US Copyright Office also advises that fair use is unlikely to apply if the use is commercial. Hence it has become the accepted practice to apply for permission to reproduce diagrams. Redrawing diagrams which are based
on existing figures are not explicitly mentioned in either guidance. However, if I make a drawing from the authors’ description of their apparatus, I presumably own the copyright? It seems a small step from there to sketch or photograph a piece of apparatus and produce a diagram for reproduction, or redraw a graph.
Obtaining permission A useful source of information for authors wishing to understand the requirements for obtaining permission to reproduce published diagrams is the International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM). It is the global trade association for academic and professional publishers. One of its stated principles is: ‘To encourage publishers to permit the use of limited amounts of material in other published works without charge, and with a minimum of administration.’ STM publishes permission guidelines – which, however, unfortunately do not cover adaptations and re-drawing of figures and illustrations. As an FAQ explains in this connection: ‘Adaptation of source material drawn from a scientific or scholarly journal requires editorial judgment and may involve aspects and facets beyond copyright, eg ethical as well as novelty/authenticity questions.’ These guidelines, although neither mandatory nor applicable, tend to be followed by publishers when granting
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