Copyright guidance

Navigate copyright

The Stanford community both creates and uses copyrighted materials and other intellectual property. Stanford Libraries’ Office of Scholarly Communications assists Stanford University faculty, staff, and students in navigating copyright issues relevant to research, publishing, and teaching.

Request copyright guidance

Who is eligible 

Stanford University faculty, staff, and students.

What to expect

  • Our online copyright resource includes an overview of copyright and addresses common copyright issues in research, publishing, and teaching. 
  • We respond to copyright questions via email and are available for consultations with members of the Stanford community.
  • Contact us to discuss copyright instruction for classes, campus groups, and academic departments. 
  • We provide copyright information to assist community members in understanding concerns and making copyright-related decisions, but we cannot offer legal advice.
  • We collaborate with, or refer Stanford-related copyright issues that may benefit from legal advice, to the Office of General Counsel.

Copyright for authors

  • Copyright in scholarly works 
  • Journal and book publishing agreements
  • Using copyrighted material in research
Learn more about copyright for authors

Copyright for students

  • Using copyrighted material in theses and dissertations 
  • Republication of thesis and dissertation content
  • Obtaining permission to use figures or images
Learn more about copyright for students

Copyright for instructors

  • Classroom use of copyrighted material
  • Copyrighted material in course management systems
Learn more about copyright for instructors