Both reproduction and adaptation of previously published work require that permission be granted by the copyright holder. Reproduction of a figure means using a figure that has been previously published in exactly the same form. 

Adaptation of a figure means changing the previously published form by adding or subtracting information. For example, this could be relabeling or modifying a previously published figure, or creating a new figure using parts from two or more third-party sources.

Redrawing of a figure means using a figure as a guide and redrawing it in its entirety, creating a new figure with the correct information that might look similar but not identical.

Redrawn figures do not require copyright permission. Figures created using data or results from other publications also do not require permission.

A useful rule of thumb is: if you started with a figure from another publication, it’s an adaptation and you should always seek permission before using the figure.

If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be given in the contribution. It is the author’s responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. Permissions must be obtained before your manuscript is submitted.

Subscription Journals 

Copyright of articles is in most cases held by the publisher. In cases where the RightsLink system is used, permission will usually be granted immediately. More specialized requests may take longer or need to be followed up with the publisher’s rights and licenses department. If possible, please confirm you have received all permissions when you upload your production data – this will help us publish your paper as fast as possible. 

The following is a non-exhaustive list of publishers that use RightsLlink: 

• American Chemical Society 
• American Institute of Physics
• Elsevier
• Institute of Physics
• John Wiley and Sons/Wiley-VCH (Note: permission must be obtained for figures reproduced from Wiley journals)
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• Science (AAAS)
• Springer Nature

Open Access 

A general exception to this rule is open access journals and articles, which have different agreements governing re-use of material. If you wish to reproduce materials from an open access title, you should check the journal homepage for more information on their re-use policies. 

CC-BY content can be used without asking permission, but the source must be attributed. Reproduced under terms of the CC-BY license.[ref] Copyright 2018, The Authors, published by…. 

Content published under Creative Commons licenses where there is a “Non-Commercial” (NC), “No-Derivatives” (ND), or “Share-Alike” (SA) requirement cannot be used without first obtaining permission, for the following reasons: 

• NC – Re-use in our journals is classified as commercial use. 
• ND – The work in which the content is re-used is classified as a derivative work. 
• SA – The derivative work cannot be published under the same terms as the SA license. 

Authors should either replace the figure with something suitable or gain permission directly from the copyright holder.  

General 

Figures published on the internet are usually copyrighted and will require permission for re-use. If there is an image that you find and would like to use, always check the source and whether or not you need to ask for permission to re-use it. If you cannot find this information, it’s best to look for a different image, as we will not be able to republish it. If an image requires credit for re-use, these cannot be used in covers or table of contents graphics. 

Always check the terms of the re-use license for any freely available material (e.g. clip art or Wikimedia images) or open access publications as this may exclude or restrict commercial use. All publishing at Wiley is considered commercial.

Public Domain and CC0 

Content in the public domain or licensed as CC0 can be used commercially, without attribution.

Stock Photos 

Stock photos purchased from online photo/image repositories cannot be used. These repositories usually have a clause in the license that the purchaser of the license cannot sub-transfer to a third party, as would be required by the author in accordance with Copyright Transfer Agreement for the journal.

Trademarks and Logos 

A trademark is a type of intellectual property, such as a name, logo, symbol, design or image, which identifies the brand owner of a particular product or service. 

Discussing of such trademarks in an article is permitted, as long as these are clearly identified as trademarks and not presented in a manner that could suggest source, sponsorship, or endorsement. However, for reproduction or use of trademark images in any form, copyright permission must first be obtained from the brand owner. 

Examples of trademarks frequently encountered which require permission include: characters and names from cartoons/TV/movies/comics/computer games, university/institution logos, symbols or icons associated with companies/brands.

Classical Art 

Copyright protection on works of art in the public domain can vary. To avoid any doubt, it is recommended that permission always be requested from the owner (e.g. a museum, gallery, collection, etc.) of the work before proceeding.

Currency 

In general, the use of currency in figures should be avoided. The restrictions set on publishing images of currency vary by country. Thus, instead of using a coin as an indicator of size, either a ruler or scale bar should be used.

Don’t Use Material Without Permission 

Multiple efforts to obtain permission without success does not grant the right to use material without permission, nor does it provide any legal protection. If you do not manage to obtain formal permission, select alternative material or remove.