Permissions statements - samples

Copyright permissions

Proper attribution and citation is an important part of copyright compliance. Below are some sample statements which you can adapt as needed, depending on who has granted you permission. You should always follow the citation style appropriate to your discipline.

Permission from the copyright holder

     (c) 2001 J. Smith. This material has been copied with the copyright holders' permission. Further reproduction, distribution or transmission is prohibited, except as otherwise permitted by law.

Permission from a publisher

• (c) Reproduced by permission of Wiley-Blackwell Publishers. Further reproduction, distribution or transmission is prohibited, except as otherwise permitted by law.

Permission using the Fair Dealing exception in the Copyright Act ( to include in your course outlines, CourseSpaces sites, etc.)

• This copy was made pursuant to the Fair Dealing Guidelines of the University, library database licenses or other university policies. The copy may only be used for the purpose of research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, education, satire or parody. If the copy is used for the purpose of review, criticism or news reporting, the source and the name of the author must be mentioned. The use of this copy for any other purpose may require the permission of the copyright owner.

Cannot locate copyright holder

If you have attempted to contact the copyright holder and obtain permission, but have received no response or cannot locate them, you may still use a "short excerpt" for research, private study, education, criticism and review, under the fair dealing exception. Please remember to retain records regarding your attempts to obtain permission. A statement should be attached to the work, similar to the following:

• (c) 2001 John Smith. Due diligence has been conducted in attempting to locate and request permission from the copyright holder. Reproduced under section 29 of the Canadian Copyright Act : fair dealing.  

If your purpose is other than for the fair dealing purposes above, you must contact the Canadian Copyright Board for permission to use a work for which the copyright holder is unlocatable.