How do I get copyright for my thesis/dissertation? As the author of a thesis or dissertation, you own the copyright to your work. Under U.S. Copyright law, a creator of an "original work" created in a "fixed tangible medium" is immediately and automatically the copyright owner of the work, and your work is protected.
Do I need to register my work with the U.S. Copyright Office? As stated above, your thesis or dissertation is automatically protected under copyright. However, there are some legal benefits to registering your copyright, particularly the right to collect damages in a successful infringement lawsuit. Essentially, if at some point you might want to take legal action in order to protect your work, you should register it with the US Copyright Office.
How do I register my work? In the course of this submission, you can request that ProQuest/UMI file for copyright with the U.S. Copyright on your behalf. ProQuest charges a fee for this service.
Authors of master’s theses and dissertations assume full responsibility for use of any copyright material in their manuscripts.
Documentation
Include an unsigned copyright statement (see Appendix A) at the end of your thesis or dissertation. Keep the originals of any permission letters (discussed below), as questions regarding permission to use copyrighted material may arise at a later date. Copies of letters of permission must be submitted with the thesis or dissertation to ProQuest.
Reuse of Another Person’s Work
Obtain written permission to quote extensively or to reproduce tables, figures, graphs, or charts. The written permission should specifically authorize you to use and reproduce material. For unpublished, copyrighted material, obtain permission from the author(s). For published material, obtain permission from the publisher.
Further details regarding using copyrighted materials in a dissertation or thesis are available here:
Reuse of Your Own Work
If you have already published parts of your thesis or dissertation, or if your manuscript has been accepted for publication, it is highly likely that the publisher owns the copyright. Read your signed author agreement to determine if you have permission to use the material in your dissertation or thesis. If not, you will need to obtain written permission from the publisher to use the text and figures from these journal articles in your dissertation or thesis.
Acknowledgement of Copyrighted Materials
Cite copyrighted materials in the reference list according to your chosen style manual. Where the copyrighted material appears in your manuscript, provide a full citation, and include the statement “______ [used/adapted] with permission of the _______ [publisher/ author].”
Copyright of Theses and Dissertations
When you complete the ProQuest Publishing Agreement you can request ProQuest to file a copyright application with the Library of Congress. This information is available in your ETD account.
.