Copyrights and Permissions

IEEE Standards Association Copyright Policy

General Principles of the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Copyright Policy

• Enhancing the accessibility, distribution and use of information is a major objective of IEEE and the IEEE-SA, limited only by the requirements of viability and professional propriety.
• To meet this objective and control the use of its good name, the IEEE is obligated to secure copyright ownership of its documents, including its standards and standards-related products.
• In exercising its rights under copyright, the IEEE-SA recognizes that it is acting in part to serve and protect the interests of its standards participants and participating entities.
• Fees for the reuse of IEEE standards material are appropriate for contributing to the cost of standards development oversight and original publication, especially where the reuse involves a license to copy, or allows resale, or is of a magnitude that would tend to reduce subscription or other sales income.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO IEEE STANDARDS AND STANDARDS-RELATED PRODUCTS

Contributions to IEEE Standards
All contributions to IEEE standards development (whether for an individual or entity standard) shall meet the requirements outlined in the IEEE-SA Copyright Policy.

There are two types of contributions to IEEE standards development, contributions from previously Published sources and contributions that have not been previously Published.

Contributions from Previously Published Sources
Any participant who submits contributions from previously Published sources shall comply with 7.2.1 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws.

IEEE Permission Form Letters (.zip) to request and grant permission to use material unchanged or modified are available online.

Contributions Not Previously Published
Any participant who submits contributions that have not been previously Published conveys the rights to the IEEE that are outlined in 7.2.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws.

Use by IEEE of Contributions
Use of any contribution in connection with the standards project for which the contribution was made is defined as granting IEEE the unrestricted right to

• Display, distribute, and provide access to the contribution worldwide, to participants in the standards project or to any interested party in the development of the standards project,
  • Using any method and in any form, including, but not limited to, providing access in print and electronically on a server or in a searchable database
  • Accessing the contribution at no cost or for a fee, and with or without requirement for IEEE or IEEE-SA membership
• Modify and incorporate the contribution into the proposed draft IEEE standard that is a Work Product of the standards project

Upon approval of the standard, the material from the contribution that is incorporated into the approved IEEE Standard is part of the Work Product copyrighted by IEEE and falls under item b) in Clause 7.2.2 of the IEEE-SA Standards Board Bylaws. IEEE has full exploitation rights to the material in the approved standard (e.g., it can use, license, or distribute the material in the approved standard in any way it wishes).

With respect to the original contribution, IEEE does not have the right to

• Submit the contribution to any other proposed draft IEEE standard without agreement by the original submitter
• Grant permission for another entity to use material from the contribution in another work or derivative work

IEEE will comply with legal requirements to provide the contribution, including but not limited to, assisting in the administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of a national or international government entity.

Contributions to IEEE Standards-Related Products
Authors who develop standards-related products have separate author agreements that address copyright ownership for those products. If an author submits material containing excerpted content from previously Published sources, the author is responsible for obtaining permission for use of that material from the copyright owner, or from a person with the authority or right to grant copyright permission. Requests by authors for copyright permission shall be coordinated with the IEEE-SA Intellectual Property Rights.

COPYRIGHT PERMISSION TO USE MATERIAL FROM IEEE STANDARDS PRODUCTS
IEEE-SA offers copyright permission, on a non-discriminatory basis, for any and all uses. IEEE-SA associated materials include IEEE standards and drafts, IEEE-SA policies, procedures, bylaws and publications associated with the IEEE Standards Information Network ("IEEE-SIN"), (hereinafter, the "IEEE-SA Documents"). The payment of royalty may be required, depending on the amount of material to be utilized and/or the intended use of those materials.

Copyright permission is not needed to reprint the abstract or scope from IEEE-SA Documents.

Royalty-Free Permission*
IEEE-SA policy holds that once permission is granted, anyone may excerpt and publish up to ten percent (10%) or 500 words in total, whichever is less, of the entirety of an IEEE-SA Document (excluding IEEE SIN books and material in any IEEE-SA Documents not copyrighted by the IEEE) on a royalty-free basis, so long as:

1. Proper acknowledgment is provided;
2. The 'heart' of the standard is not entirely contained within the portion being excerpted.

This royalty-free permission may also include the use of tables, graphs, and figures. Furthermore, the IEEE-SA generally provides royalty-free permission to utilize any templates and individual definitions provided in an IEEE-SA Document. In these instances, the IEEE-SA only requests that the user properly reference the title and numeric designation of the relevant standard(s) being excerpted. The following is an example of one such reference:

IEEE Std 802b™-2004, IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Overview and Architecture Amendment 2: Registration of Object Identifiers.

To request such permission, please contact IEEE Intellectual Property Rights.

*NOTE: The Royalty-Free Permission policy does not apply to books or other materials published by IEEE-SIN.

Permission Requiring Royalty
Permission to excerpt more than ten percent (10%) or 500 words in total of the entirety of an IEEE-SA Document or, the 'heart' of any particular IEEE-SA Document (regardless of quantitative sum of the material encompassing the 'heart') generally requires a license agreement and the payment of royalty. Should you require such permission, please contact IEEE-SA Intellectual Property Rights.

Referencing an IEEE Standard
It is not necessary to obtain permission from the IEEE when merely referencing an IEEE-SA Document. If there are potential marketing opportunities, it may be helpful to get in touch with the IEEE Standards Department in order to provide ordering information or distribution availability. However, there is no requirement for notification. An IEEE standard may be cited just as you would cite any other copyrighted material.