STM Permission Guidelines: What to know when clearing permission for your article

Interested in saving valuable time and expense while clearing permissions for third-party content you include in your article?  The STM Permissions Guidelines may just help!  SAGE is a member of the International Association of STM publishers, a group of academic and professional publishers, societies and university presses who publish in the fields of science, technology and medicine. This membership allows SAGE authors free reuse of content published by other signatories, within certain parameters. 

Before you license content for reuse in your article, be sure to check the STM Website to see if the original publisher is also an STM signatory publisher. The website features a simple chart listing each signatory publisher.  It is a good idea to keep this site bookmarked so you can easily reference the most current list of members. 

How much content can you reuse under the STM Guidelines?  

For use of journal content:

•       Up to 3 figures or tables from any journal article, but no more than 5 from any issue, or 6 from any volume.

•       Up to 400 words from any journal article, but no more than a total of 800 words from a journal issue.

For use of book content:

•       Up to 3 figures from any book chapter, but no more than 5 from the whole book.

•       Up to 400 words from any book chapter, but no more than a total of 800 words from the whole book.

In total:

•       Not more than three figures from works published by a single publisher for an article.

What if you need to reuse more material than is covered by the policy? You may always seek permission to reuse material beyond these limits, although the additional content is likely to require a permission fee.  For example, if you are reusing 5 figures from one article, the first 3 will be free and you will need to express permission for the remaining 2.

What if the content you want to reuse is published by a signatory publisher but is not from an STM publication?  One common misconception is that these guidelines only apply to STM content, when in fact they apply to ALL works published by a signatory – not just STM works!  If a publisher has any exceptions to the policy, it will be indicated on the signatory chart.

Do you need to notify the publisher that you are reusing the work? Some STM publishers require notification of the reuse and others do not. The signatory chart on the STM Website will provide this information, along with instructions on where to send notification of use, if required.

What rights are granted under this policy?  Rights granted include print and electronic versions of the work.  Any permission granted for one edition will apply to subsequent editions as well as for editions in other languages as long as the new editions are produced and published by an STM Signatory publisher. 

What is not covered under this agreement?  Following are instances where the content cannot be licensed under the STM Guidelines.

·        Any third-party material credited to another source must be cleared with the stated copyright owner.

·        Reuse on covers or within promotional materials is not included.

·        Permissions for publications with less than 70% original content should be requested directly from the publisher

·        Adaptations or modifications require permission from the publisher,  but may still be free.

·        Any content listed as an exception by the publisher on the STM signatory chart.

What type of credit is required?   As with any third-party content, be sure to provide full credit to the original source.

Have more questions? Check out a downloadable pdf of the STM Guidelines here.