Permissions from copyright owners

You may also be able to rely on direct permissions from the copyright owner to make use of copyright materials with genAI.

Some online resources, such as many of the sites on our free and open-licensed resources page, already grant bespoke usage licences that are compatible with use of their materials with genAI. Other resources on this page may be released under Creative Commons licences (see the accordion above). The curated PDF guides in each section provide links to the licensing/terms for each resource - it is your responsibility to check for any usage restrictions. Note that free licences for some media types can be limited to particular uses.

Where licensing or usage terms do not cover use of materials with genAI, permission may need to be requested directly from copyright owners (assuming a copyright exception above does not apply). Our PDF guides for teaching use and research purposes provide guidance on how you can approach seeking permission. Where your desired use includes genAI, requests should ask for explicit permission around this, plus check what exactly the copyright owner will allow – don’t assume that a ‘generic’ permission grant will cover all (or any) use with AI.

It is important that you meet any requirements for the allowed use (e.g., providing attribution/credit, or only using a data-secure platform). Best practice is to keep this permission on file for later referral if needed.

See also 'Terms of Service/Use' in the Copyright basics for genAI section above.

Have a question? Contact the Copyright Advisor