I’ve had an approach from someone purporting to be an employee of a US university, seeking permission to use photographs taken by myself in an online academic text for use by students.
I have contacted the university’s administration to check the veracity of the approach and the intended use, but was wondering if any of my US visitors can point me in the direction of a guide to licensing images, specifically to academic institutions?
If the approach is genuine, I’m more than happy to provide a free licence to use the images in the specific online text and the databases storing it but no further without seeking a further licence from myself.
I also want to be sure the images are only used for academic purposes (ie not for commercial exploitation), that I receive appropriate credit, and that a suitable copyright notice is attached to the images.
Any pointers would be appreciated.
I’d suggest looking into Creative Commons (CC) licensing. It does not apply just to academics, but it sounds like one of their licenses will meet your requirements. Click on the “License your work” link in the upper right: http://creativecommons.org/
This is an area I have a lot of interest and some experience in. If you want to start a dialogue via email, feel free to drop me a line.
Ditto to the above.
Agreed! Creative commons is the thing. You can never ever guarantee that your work will not be misused, but that is the risk of the net. Attaching a CC licence is a good thing.
As long as the request is genuine, and you make it clear, I wouldn’t worry too much.
Thanks. The institution is a major one and the professor whose work the image/s will be included in has a long track record, but it’s all too easy to get those details off the web and use them for fraudulent purposes. I’ve contacted the administration directly rather than going back to the person who made the approach, so we’ll see.
When I went to Uni in texas you had to buy your books and of course they’re published by big corporations and/or the professor of the class who are making money off of the sales…..
Gordon