Hi everyone,

I'm writing a book about my experiences with an illness, I'm hoping it may be of interest to others with the same illness, I'd really like to include a couple of stories which have been published in the press, some scientific information and the statement from the World Health Organization about the disease.

I would like to also include my medical test result figures and doctors recommendations. Can I do this or does the doctor own copyright as they were in written form?

Could anyone give me advice on how to refer to this information without infringing copyright? Can I write an overall couple of lines summarising the newpaper reports and reference them or would that be infringing?

Can I say that certain Scientific studies have found so and so and reference them fully? Or do I need to exact copy thier text and get their permission?

It would be very useful to be able to include the WHO statement on the illness - how can I include their statement, do I have to use their exact words or conclude what they say and reference?

I'm finding this all so very difficult to get my head around - especially as the UK laws where I am are different and appear stricter than elsewhere? any advice would be very gratefully received!

Booky, the best people to ask about questions of copyright are the Society of Authors: have a look here: http://www.societyofauthors.org/guides-and-articles/

I have absolutely no idea about medical records, but in non-fiction such as yours, you can certainly quote reasonable amounts of other texts, 'for the purpose of criticism and review', without seeking permission, as long as you quote accurately, and reference and acknowledge it properly. Quite what constitutes a reasonable amount I'm not sure...

Emma

Hi, Booky, and welcome to WriteWords.

With regard to your questions, as Emma says it depends on how much you are quoting. I remember from my student days that one could write a thesis full of quotes from text books and scientific papers (and write it up for publication) so long as they were properly formatted in the text, and fully attributed in the bibliography.
There is an amount you can quote from published articles without needing permission, but I can't remember how much off hand.
If you are aiming it at fellow sufferers then it is important to get the information across in laymans terms, rather than simply pasting chunks of research & scientific papers into the manuscript. And that would get around the need for getting permission to quote text directly.
If you are writing it for the scientific community, then that is a whole other writing skill and the manuscript would need to undergo a peer review before it was accepted for publication, and that is not a route I would recommend you take.


- NaomiM

Thanks Emma and Naomi,

So my book would certainly fall into the category of critism and review then?

I did hope that I could use scientific sources in a similar way to when I wrote my degree dissertation, but from what I have read it is different when it is for commercial gain - I'm not sure if this is a recent change to copyright law?

I emailed the society of Authors to see if they could perhaps give a clear idea of what I can and cannot use in relation to my book.

Would it be OK to write "Mr Jones found so and so in his study" basically summarising the study to also back up the findings in my illness or would that be copyright infringement by taking too much of his work? Does it only relate to direct copying of text word for word or does concluding the overall work infringe also?

Would it be OK to write "Mr Jones found so and so in his study" basically summarising the study

Well I'm no expert but I would have thought that should be fine. Include a citation in the text to link it to the bibliography and I can't see there being a problem.

Hi booky

Here's a link to Palgrave Macmillans permissions advice, it's pretty standard for non-fiction and copyright issues.

Permissions

Thanks for the permissions link karris (your work is very interesting by the way) - it seems from reading the permissions advice through that it is very strict, and that anything not for critism and review needs permission. I'm not sure whether my book would consitute critism or review really, maybe news? So would fall under fair dealing?

I know so many other non-fiction books have information in which must have come from other sources, some is referenced and some is not. I cannot tell whether they have permission or not.

There are paragraphs that I wish to include that are facts I know from doing a science degree - ie learnt facts, I'm not even sure whether I can include these. The more I read, the more it seems I can't include. My book is getting thinner! the fraustrating thing is I don't know for sure what I can or cannot include, it all seems so vague.

I don't necessariily wish to copy text just conclude scientific findings.

I contacted the Society of Authours to see if they could advise me but as I haven't had a book published yet so I can't join them.

V fraustrated because I want to get on with writing!

Booky, you can't join them but you can buy their booklet on copyrights and permissions...

And don't forget that you only need permission if it's published. As long as you know you can clear permissions, then there's nothing to stop you pitching the book. Permissions can take ages, so you'd need to get on with it if you have a contract, but it can be done - otherwise no one would ever publish a book quoting anyone.

Emma

To be honest, the chances of anyone getting anything published are pretty slim, so personally I would get on and write it how you want to (just make sure you cite any authors you quote in the text to save time later) and then worry about getting permission if&when it's accepted by a publisher.


- NaomiM

<Added>

...because it'll be easier to find a publisher for a complete work, than for one where you're second guessing whether or not you should include it and may be leaving essential parts out at this stage. One doesn't need permission to put it in a manuscript when you're writing it, only when it comes to publishing it.

I'm going to be publishing the book myself, I don't think a publisher will be interested, I don't think it will be a long term seller but could have a certain amount of interest.

That is probably a good idea, Booky.
Once you have written it and know what you have included in it, then is probably a good time to ask permission from the various people/organisations whose work you have quoted, because then you can send them copies of the actual pages so they know what you are referring to. Plus you can calculate the actual amount of the papers/texts which you are quoting, since (I believe) there is a percentage that you can quote without needing to ask permission so long as you cite them in the bibliography.

All the best with it.


- NaomiM

Thanks Naomi!