Copyright and your thesis or dissertation

Copyright is an important component to publishing your dissertation or thesis. Students should consider copyright as early in their work as possible, especially if you wish to reuse content from another copyright holder, such as images or figures. 

For additional information and resources on copyright, please visit the Copyright Guide. 

Who own's the copyright of my dissertation?

Under Carnegie Mellon University’s Intellectual Property Policy, you (the student) most likely own the copyright to your dissertation. However, if the work has been published elsewhere, or if the research was sponsored by the university or conducted under an agreement between an external sponsor and the university, check the agreement to see who owns copyright.

When you go to publish your work via KiltHub or ProQuest, you won't be required to transfer or register your copyright. Neither the University Libraries nor ProQuest/UMI require copyright transfer to publish your dissertation. Both require only the non-exclusive right to reproduce and distribute your work (meaning you permit them to share your work on their platform).

Reusing other's copyrighted content or previously published materials

Since your work will most likely be published via ProQuest or KiltHub, you'll need to get permission to reuse copyrighted content or previously published materials. This includes figures or images, as well as your own previously published work if you have transferred your copyright to the publisher. Here are some high-level notes on this process:

• If the work is published Open Access under a Creative Commons License, then you most likely are all set to reuse the content without seeking permission. You need to properly credit this source. 
• If the work is published closed-access (behind a paywall) then you most likely need to get permission from the publisher. Sometimes this process might look like you're purchasing permission, but there is almost never an actual charge for use in a dissertation (read: we've never seen a case). To get permission, look for "rights", "permission", or "reuse content" on the article's page and follow those steps. 
• Some publishers will have a general statement, allowing author to reuse their articles in their thesis or dissertation. These general disclaimers serve as "permissions."

If you choose to publish your dissertation with ProQuest, you must sign an agreement indicating that you have the necessary copyright permissions, and provide copies of the permissions. If you choose to publish with KiltHub, you need not provide copies of the permission letters, though you do still need to get those necessary permissions.

Registering for copyright

As stated above, in most cases you already have copyright of your work.  Copyright owners do not need to register their work with the U.S. Copyright Office to acquire these rights. However, it is an option to register your copyright. 

If you want to register your copyright, you can go through the U.S. Copyright Office’s eCO Online System for a fee of $35. Alternatively, if you choose to publish your work with ProQuest, they can register your copyright for you for a fee of $55. 

"Licensing" my work (ie Creative Commons)

You may wish to openly license your work to allow others to reuse and share it, without getting explicit permission from you. One common example is Creative Commons. By using a Creative Commons license, the copyright holder is permitting others to reuse their work as long as they are properly credited. Using a Creative Commons license is as simple as choosing a license and labeling the work with the license title or icon.

These licenses are a bit like labels on your work. There is no process in obtaining this license, other than looking through the options and picking the one that suits your preferences, and then just putting that information on your work. Learn more about Creative Commons license options.