With over 75 years of backlist titles represented by the agency, PFD receives a great number of requests for permission to reproduce material from the copyright property of our clients and their Estates every day, in books and assorted other media. In this section we hope to answer all of the most frequently asked questions about the process of requesting and being granted permission. Please take time to look it over before you apply - what you will find here may speed up the granting of the permission you require considerably.
HOW DO I APPLY?
You should apply for permission to reproduce copyright material from our authors' work in writing by post on your company or personal letterhead, or otherwise giving your full contact details, to:
Requests originating overseas may be sent by fax to +44 20 7836 9539
CAN I APPLY BY E-MAIL?
We can't accept permission requests in the first instance by e-mail.
WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED FROM ME?
- We need to know full publishing details of the book or magazine, newspaper or other periodical in which the copyright material is to appear, which means at least:
- Author/Editor
- Title
- Publisher
- Territories
- Languages
- Retail Price
- Planned editions, i.e Hardback, Paperback, Book-club, Audio-book, e-book, or other internet/electronic use (Do you wish to clear permission for all planned editions at the same time?)
- Estimated print-run or initial manufacture quantities
- We'd like to see a photocopy of the material to be reproduced along with the following information:
- Author
- Title
- Publisher
- Number of words (for prose material)
- Number of lines (for verse)*
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- *please note that we will not generally grant permission to reproduce some but not all stanzas/verses of a particular poem - unless there is good reason we may insist on the entire poem being reproduced.
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CAN YOU GRANT ME PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE A PHOTOGRAPH, LINE-DRAWING, MAP OR OTHER ILLUSTRATIVE MATERIAL WHICH I FOUND IN A WORK BY ONE OF YOUR CLIENTS?
Sometimes. Rarely, in the case of photographs (unless copyright in the photograph in question is owned by the author). This is generally clear from the context, and the picture credits of the book.
Line-drawings or maps specific to the book in question may have been commissioned, and therefore owned, by either the publisher or the author. In the case of older works, more probably by the author. For works still in print and for more recent works you should contact the publisher in the first instance.
Please note that we hold no original artwork, illustrations or photographs here, and are unable to supply you with reproductions, prints or transparencies.
WHAT IF I REQUIRE PERMISSION TO USE MATERIAL IN A MEDIUM OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED ABOVE?
In such instances please contact the particular agent for the relevant author or Estate, listed elsewhere on this website, with as much detail as is relevant to the permission you will require, analogous in the medium to the information required above.
WHAT IF I REQUIRE PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE, USE, EXPLOIT OR ADAPT MATERIAL IN A MANNER DIFFERENT TO ITS ORIGINAL SOURCE?
In such instances please contact the particular agent for the relevant author or Estate, listed elsewhere on this website.
WHAT IF I WISH TO REPRODUCE MATERIAL FOR MY OWN PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE?
Permission will still be required, and you must request it in writing with full details of your intended personal use.
WILL PERMISSION BE GRANTED FREE OF CHARGE?
Possibly but probably not.
Permission to reproduce short extracts and small amounts of copyright material may be granted gratis provided full acknowledgement is given to the author, to the source and to this agency as having granted the permission.
Similarly, if the inclusion of the copyright material is for a purpose which may be considered as "fair dealing...for purposes of criticism or review" whether of the work from which the material comes or of another work, you may not need to request permission or pay any fee, provided that the author and title from which the copyright material comes is given in the acknowledgements section of your work. But "fair dealing...for purposes of criticism or review" is a phrase not in itself defined in the Copyright Act, and it's worth checking with us whether or not we share your view of "fair dealing" in the context.
WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY?
The minimum fee is £70.00 (+VAT if applicable). The appropriate fee in all other instances will depend on the commercial particulars suggested by the publishing details for each request. Payment will always be stipulated and must be made in Sterling.
WILL PERMISSION ALWAYS BE GRANTED?
No. Our clients reserve the right to refuse permission to reproduce their copyright material.