[tab name=’Guidelines’]

Guidelines : Requesting Permission

Requesting Permission

Guidelines and Alternate Phrases

• Pave the way for the request by telling who you are and how you plan to use the quoted material.
• Request permission for the specific material to be used. If you are telling an anecdote, supply a copy of how you will word the story and in what context. If you are using printed material, be specific about page, lines, figures, photos, and so forth.
• Give the exact use of the material: One-time limited use? In all foreign translations? On video? On audio? In all associated product brochures and manuals?
• Suggest a permission line to be used to show copyright, or ask the granter of the rights to do so.
• Reprinted by courtesy of Holdern Corporation.
• Courtesy of Tom Mitchell Group, Inc.
• Reprinted by permission from Banking in America, by Harold Smith, Harper and Row Publishers, copyright 19–.
• Make it easy for the reader to respond: include copies of anything to be reprinted, the context of the reprint, and permission forms or approval-signature space on your letter of request.
• Thank the reader.
• I appreciate your cooperation.
• Thank you for your courtesy in allowing this use of your material.
• Thank you for granting permission for this limited use.
• Such statistics in our handbook will be of great benefit in adding credibility to our own company studies. We appreciate your help.

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[tab name=’Example 1′]

Example 1: Sample request letter for permission

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip
Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Johnson:

I am preparing a speech on corporate ethics to be delivered at the ARP national convention November 6. At a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting, Dave Ferguson used a story about your business and your convictions on not permitting your staff members to enter a competitor’s booth during a trade show. I’d like to use that anecdote in my speech if you don’t mind.

Dave gave me some statistics and other particulars, but I wanted to check with you for verification. Therefore, I’ve enclosed a small segment of the speech that relates to you. Would you mind glancing over this portion and verifying, correcting, or adding any other comments you feel further describe your feelings on the ethics of this situation?

Thank you for your help in making this an inspiring speech for our convention audience.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 2′]

Example 2: Letters for permission

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Hanlon:

I am writing an article for our company newsletter about the rising awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace. I would like permission to quote the definition of sexual harassment you gave in your 1997 book, The Office Minefield.

The quote I wish to use is on page 112, beginning on line 22 with “Sexual harassment is…” and ending on line 24 with “…of disapproval.” (Please see enclosure for full excerpt.)

I have enclosed two copies of this letter. If you will grant permission, please sign below and return one to me in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope. You can keep the other copy for your records. Your signature indicates your permission to reprint your words only for this limited use. In no way do you forfeit your right to the copyrighted material.

Unless you specify otherwise, I will footnote your quote, “from Ronald Hanlon’s The Office Minefield (Wellfield & Brown, 1997).”

I think your definition succinctly nails down some complicated issues. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Agreed to and accepted by:

_________________________________________________________________
Signature Title Date
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[tab name=’Example 3′]

Example 3: Request permission for published article

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mrs. Parillo:

The Floyd comic strip you published in the Detroit Inquirer on June 27 made the rounds in our office for several days. We were struck by the way you captured the pitfalls of taking a leadership position. I would like to use your cartoon in the material I plan to distribute at an annual executive training seminar. The seminar hosts approximately 40 executive trainees yearly.

The comic strip will not be used to endorse any of our products. I would like to use it on the title page of a handout entitled “Earning Leadership.” Enclosed is a copy of the proposed title page with your comic strip.

If someone other than you owns the copyright, will you please tell me how I may contact them?

To indicate your approval for this limited use, please sign below and return one copy to me in the envelope provided. I will credit the strip according to your directions.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Agreed to and accepted by:

__________________________________________________________________
Signature Title Date
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[tab name=’Example 4′]

Example 4: Request for give permission for print article

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. Leeds:

On December 19, I will give a speech to Wilson Broadcasting’s shareholders at our annual meeting. The speech will focus on efforts to make our company more efficient and environmentally responsible. I would like to request permission to quote a portion of your essay, “The Benefits of Down-Sizing America” from your Web page. Your essay is keen observation of America’s “love affair with consumption.”

Specifically, I would like to quote the following two sections:

• From line 11, beginning with “Status in America….”
to line 12, ending with “…a two-car garage.”

• And, from line 32, beginning with “The future health….”
to line 35, ending with “…commitment to change.”

I have attached the section of the speech where I would like to use your words. Of course, I would give you full credit.

The speech will also be published in our January shareholders’ newsletter, “Wilson Notes,“ distributed to approximately 650 people.

Would you sign the enclosed portion of my speech to indicate your consent? Thank you for improving my speech with your words.

Sincerely,
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[tab name=’Example 5′]

Example 5: Requesting Permission

Company Name or Letterhead
Address
City, State Zip

Date

Addressee
Address
City, State Zip

Dear Ms. Gallaudet:

I am writing a book for Martin & Brown Publishers that is scheduled to be released in March of 1999. The book, entitled Off Track: An American History of Public Transportation, deals with the philosophies, failures, and successes of mass transit in the United States. The statistics on passenger rail you quoted in your speech to the Stanton Civic Club would complement my discussion of federal rail subsidies. I would like your permission to use them in my book, if possible.

I have attached the statistics I wish to use. Please verify they are correct and sign at the bottom of the page to indicate that you grant permission. If you obtained the statistics from another source, please let me know.

I sincerely appreciate your assistance. Thank you.

Yours Truly,
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