How to Obtain Permission to Use Third-Party Content

Clearing Rights

If you determine that the third-party content you wish to use is not in the public domain, that fair use is not available or will not be relied upon, that Yale does not otherwise own the rights to use the work, or that privacy or publicity rights are involved, then you must obtain permission from the pertinent rights holders to use that content in your digital project.

This section provides information regarding the rights implicated by specific uses of different types of content, the respective holders of those rights, resources for identifying and obtaining contact information for those rights holders, and forms for permission requests that you may use in connection with rights acquisition.  Note that in some cases the rights holders will require that you use their form of permission or license instead.  Depending upon the situation, you may find that a single piece of content may be protected by multiple rights that are owned or controlled by a single person or entity, or by multiple sources.

Your approach to clearing rights in specific content will depend greatly on the nature of the content – whether it is music, interviews, text, audiovisual recordings, etc. Different types of content will invoke different types of rights that require clearance.  Some content will require focus simply on rights covered under copyright; others will involve publicity/privacy rights; and still others might involve trademark or any combination of the foregoing.

Refer to the guidance in this section that corresponds to the “type of material” you identified for each entry in your completed inventory form.