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Image Use Protocol: Introduction

Best practices for locating and using Japanese visual images for teaching, research, and publications

Image Use Protocol Guide Introduction

What this Web site can do for you:

This web site is designed to give basic guidance to North American Japanese studies scholars who seek permissions for the use of Japanese images particularly in scholarly publications. By clicking the links below, you will access information that may smooth the process of obtaining the necessary permission to use images from those who hold image rights. We have included links to Japanese and American web sites that provide guidelines to American copyright practices governing the use of Japanese images in a range of circumstances from publications to presentations. Sometimes figuring out exactly which person or organization holds the rights to an image is tricky. We have provided suggestions for who might be the likely rights holder in a range of image types and uses. We also offer templates of request letters and permission applications modeled after those used by a number of Japanese institutions. They are bilingual (Japanese and English) in order to meet the needs of North American publishers and Japanese right holders. You may freely adapt these to your own needs when requesting permission for image use. We also offer a few suggestions about how you might speed the movement of your permission request through a Japanese organization.

What this Web site cannot do:

Please remember that this site is not a source of legal advice. We have done our best to learn from the practices of North American academic publishers and Japanese rights holders of materials interesting to many Japan specialists. However, we cannot promise that all rights holders will respond to the approaches we suggest. Nor can we guarantee all publishers or educational institutions where you would like to use images will be satisfied by the sorts of permission documents we have suggested here. You should always consult with your publisher or with the appropriate officials at your institution for advice on when and what sorts of permissions are necessary, and you should not forget that the decision to grant use permission always rests in the hands of the rights holder.

IUP Funders

The following funders enabled NCC’s IUP Task Force to carry out its mission. Toshiba International Foundation, Japan Foundation, Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation, the Japan-US Friendship Commission, the University of Toronto Libraries, and International House of Japan Library. The Japan-US Friendship Commission’s generous ongoing support of NCC staff makes this and all other NCC programs possible.

North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources
北米日本研究資料調整協議会
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