Can I use a Carol Ann Duffy poem in a residents' newsletter?
Can I use a Carol Ann Duffy poem in a residents' newsletter?
I'd like to use part or all of Carol Ann Duffy's Last Post in an article I'm writing for the residents' newsletter which goes to every household in the town. Am I able to do this without breaching copyright? What do I have to do to ask permission and find out possible costs?
Hi Karen,
To use the whole of a poem, you would need permission, and probably have to pay a fee based on the number of copies to be printed. You can obtain permission via Carol Ann Duffy's literary agents Rogers Coleridge White here.
Helpfully on that same page they explain that an extract of not more than 40 lines providing that no more than a quarter of the poem is used, would be permissable under the fair dealing provisions. It is rare to find these kinds of guidelines on publishers/agents' sites, so I hope you will be able to achieve your aim within these limits. Please make sure you also follow their rules about crediting the author.
To use the whole of a poem, you would need permission, and probably have to pay a fee based on the number of copies to be printed. You can obtain permission via Carol Ann Duffy's literary agents Rogers Coleridge White here.
Helpfully on that same page they explain that an extract of not more than 40 lines providing that no more than a quarter of the poem is used, would be permissable under the fair dealing provisions. It is rare to find these kinds of guidelines on publishers/agents' sites, so I hope you will be able to achieve your aim within these limits. Please make sure you also follow their rules about crediting the author.
Advice or comment provided here is not and does not purport to be legal advice as defined by s.12 of Legal Services Act 2007