Using significant portions of another author's work requires licensing or permission. Examples include:
For quick turn around, request permissions through a collective licensing agency, like Copyright Clearance Center. Note that they usually add service fees in addition to the license fee.
Publisher websites allow you to request permissions by e-mail or by completing an online form. Look for links for Rights and Permissions, Requests, Reprints, Licensing, and other similar terms. Plan on licensing requests and fulfillment to take several weeks or months.
Examples of using an image that requires licensing include:
To license images of art, pictorial, or sculptural works you must contact artists representatives (such as a foundation) or the institution or publisher that owns the object.
Places you might find the rights holder include:
A rights-managed license includes terms for the specific use such as period of time, print run, placement, size of content, and territory. Fees are assessed based on those parameters.
Royalty-free licensing allows you to use copyrighted content on an ongoing basis. Users pay by subscription or per use. Royalty-free sites are great resources for users who create online content.
Creative Commons, a non-profit organization, offers a free, simple, and standardized way to grant copyright permissions for creative and academic works while ensuring proper attribution. License types allow many uses including copying, distributing, and modifying works in Creative Commons.