Rights and permissions

Reaching broad global audiences is an important way that Oxford University Press (OUP) advances excellence in research, scholarship, and education. OUP’s Academic Rights and Licensing Team takes advantage of several business models to license the content we publish, in whole or in part, to deliver it to as many readers as possible.  Extending the reach of scholarly content through licensing also helps to build out the foundation for research progress.

For non-academic content requests, please contact the relevant division:

• Education/Children’s Rights
• English Language Teaching Rights
• Music Rights
• Language and Dictionary Rights

Find out about:

• Translations
• Digital rights
• Medical and pharmaceutical permissions and translations
• Permissions

Translations

Translations is an integral part of this growing business. Licensing more than 1000 translation deals per year, we work closely with thousands of publishers across the globe enabling a range of OUP Academic book content to be read in more than 50 languages, accessing markets and readers that our English-language content alone might not reach.

When OUP licenses content for translation to third-party publishers, it is the licensee’s responsibility to bring the translated edition into fruition.  Whilst our role is to place the exclusive rights with a publisher, the licensee is responsible for translating the content, financing the translation, and bringing the translated edition to the market. No two translation deals are the same with licensing terms being broadly based on the licensee’s planned print run and catalogue retail price per copy, as well as the types of rights they wish to acquire.   

Find more about translation rights for full books by visiting the Translations homepage, our book fair catalogues, or by contacting us. For translations of book chapters or specific sections, or journal articles, please see Permissions, below.

Digital rights

We offer bespoke opportunities for third parties to reuse our research, professional, higher education, and journals content in ways that cannot be covered by a simple permission.

If you wish to license OUP content for the development of new online or digital products and services, OUP business development specialists can help you to identify appropriate content and develop a business and legal framework that will deliver a sustainable licensing partnership. Please contact us with your enquiries.

Medical and pharmaceutical permissions and translations

Medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and device manufacturers can license trusted content from OUP’s books and journals for sponsored information and resources.

Sponsored Local Excerpted Editions provide another vehicle for delivering important medical content and research to healthcare professionals. OUP’s journals are available for licensing across all territories, languages, and formats (all proposals are subject to OUP and society approvals). As a licensing partner, you can select articles of interest to a specific market, and distribute via multiple issues, across a 12-month period. Please contact us for more information.

Permissions

It is common practice for portions of text and/or illustrations to be reused in new publications. To do so, the author or publisher of the new publication must obtain permission from the original author(s). OUP fields thousands of permission requests each year that cover all manner of reuse (including photocopying, excerpts, stage performances, museum exhibitions, and more).     

Academic content 

Permission requests for books from OUP’s Academic division are handled by PLSclear and should be submitted directly to them. To make sure you are accurately identifying the work you want, you will need an ISBN. If this cannot be supplied, we’d advise you to review the copyright details - this will also help you identify the next steps to take when a copyright owner cannot be located.

Although the text or image you want to reproduce appears in an OUP publication, we may not be the copyright holder (e.g. in an anthology or collected work) and may not be able to grant permission. Please check the credit line on the Copyright and Acknowledgements pages before submitting your request to ensure you are directing it correctly. Please do not send duplicate requests.

If you have any issues with using our PLSClear service, we ask that you please contact us, allowing up to 15 working days for your request to be processed.

Journal content

OUP partners with the CCC's RightsLink service to fulfil requests from around the world to reuse journal content. RightsLink is a fast, easy-to-use online resource for obtaining permissions at the point of content within minutes. Once you locate the article on Oxford Academic that you wish to reuse, select the Permissions link on the article page to be taken through to RightsLink.

• If you haven't already done so, create a Rightslink account (a two-step process). You’ll be asked to select either the credit card or invoice option to process any fees incurred.
• Select your reuse preferences from the various dropdown menus and accept the terms and conditions (one click). 
• If the reuse option you are seeking is not listed, then select "I don't see my intended use."
• Enter your full details in the "I would like to" and "My special requirements are" fields.

Your request will be processed immediately in most cases but for a small number of requests, approval within OUP may be needed. Please allow up to 15 working days for your request to be processed.

Photocopying and coursepacks 

To streamline the permissions process, OUP works with a number of national Reproductive Rights Organizations (RROs), including Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) and the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) in the US and UK, respectively. These organizations grant licences for photocopying and coursepacks on our behalf. 

• If you are in the US: OUP participates in CCC's Annual Academic Copyright License (which allows faculty, researchers, and staff to use and distribute published content from millions of works across campus) and the Annual Copyright License (ACL) (which allows corporate workers to share content within their companies around the world). Organizations participating in either may reuse OUP published content within licence terms. If your business or academic institution does not participate in a CCC annual licence, you have the option to request reuse permissions for individual coursepacks, e-reserves, or marketing uses on a pay-per-use basis. You can also sign up for an annual licence, for full details; please contact the CCC directly.  
• If you are in the UK: OUP works with the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) to grant photocopying and coursepack reuses. Information on the range of available licence terms and conditions are available on the CLA website.

If you are unable to obtain the rights you require by contacting the CCC or the CLA, please submit a request via PLSclear, as directed in the Academic Content section above.