Permissions
ASM offers the Copyright Clearance Center's Rightslink licensing solution for ALL requests to reuse content from ASM journals. Users of any of the journal sites can easily obtain a quote and copyright permission.
Types of Copyright used by ASM Journals
American Society for Microbiology Journals Copyright
Check the Footnotes section that appears in the abstract view of the article hosted on the HighWire platform to see whether the ASM retains copyright. If this is the case, the copyright wording would read “Copyright (copyright year) American Society for Microbiology.” For information on reusing ASM journal copyrighted material, please review this Permissions FAQ page.
U.S. Government Works
Check the Footnotes section that appears in the abstract view of the article to see whether the article was authored by researchers working for the U.S. Government. If this is the case, the copyright wording would read “This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Foreign copyrights may apply.” Permission for use in the U.S. is not needed for U.S. Government works, although permission may be needed outside the U.S.
Crown Copyright
Check the Footnotes section that appears in the abstract view of the article to see whether the article was authored by researchers working for the Australian, Canadian, or United Kingdom governments. The copyright wording would read “© Crown copyright [YEAR]. The government of Australia, Canada, or the UK (“the Crown”) owns the copyright interests of authors who are government employees. The Crown Copyright is not transferable.” Most articles published under Crown copyright may be used under the terms of the Open Government Licence (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). As long as the terms of that license are followed, no further permission is needed.
Creative Commons
Starting in 2016, Open access articles appearing in ASM journals are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The author(s) retains copyright under this license. Others may copy, distribute, adapt, reorganize, and build upon the published work, as long as credit to the author and original article is given, and the new work, which includes the previously published content, is licensed under identical terms. (Note that open access articles published prior to 2016 are covered under a variety of licenses and so we encourage users to review the license information carefully in order to determine how the content may be reused).
Reusing Supplemental Material
ASM is unable to grant permission to reuse supplemental material files, as copyright for supplemental material files remains with the author(s).
Using RightsLink
For users new to RightsLink: before using RightsLink to obtain permission, we suggest reviewing the following information in order to ensure that permission is required. In the event that permission is not needed, credit should still be given to the author and journal where the figure/table originally appeared.
How to use: to use Rightslink, on the journal website search for the journal article containing the content which you would like to reuse and then click on the "Reprints and Permissions" link that appears within the article content box on the right-hand side of the page:
Follow these steps:
- Select the format in which you would like to reuse the content from the drop down menu
- Create an account or log in to your existing account
- Accept the terms and conditions, and permission will then be granted
Included below are two screen shots to give you an idea of what you will see once the link takes you from the specific ASM journals site to the Rightslink site, and the options that will be available.
Initial Screen:
Option selection/Quick Price screen:
Please note that when you select “figures” as a portion type, the following text will display: This permission does not apply to images that are credited to publications other than ASM journals. For images credited to non-ASM journal publications, you will need to obtain permission from the journal referenced in the figure or table legend or credit line before making any use of the image(s) or table(s). This will not prevent you from completing your request; it only serves as a reminder to the requestor to review the figure legend to confirm that ASM is in fact the copyright holder.
If you are an author of a paper for which you would like to request permission to reuse content, please review the ASM Journals Statement of Authors’ Rights. Authors in ASM journals retain the right to republish discrete portions of his/her article in any other publication (including print, CD-ROM, and other electronic formats) of which he or she is author or editor, provided that proper credit is given to the original ASM publication. ASM authors also retain the right to reuse the full article in his/her dissertation or thesis.
If you are looking for a type of reuse that is not listed, you can select the type of use as “I don't see my intended use” and outline your reuse requirements. Please include what part(s) of the article you wish to reuse (images, abstract) and how you intend to reuse the material (in a presentation, on a website.) Initial response time to most requests is 24 hours, with a follow up response containing fee quotes and additional instructions 48 hours after the first response.
Commercial Reprints (multiple copies)
For commercial orders (multiple copies): Orders should now be placed through the ASM journal site of the published article via the Rightslink service. Rightslink access is through a "Reprints and Permissions" link that appears on the journal table of contents or within the article content box.
If your commercial reprints order requires any customization—disclaimers, prescribing information, custom cover text, product information, or the like—ASM approval is required prior to order acceptance (ASM requires copies of all product information to be sent along with the disclaimer text). You must submit these materials as attachments to an email sent to journals@asmusa.org (include the job ticket number in the subject line). Note that, as ASM approval is required for all customizations, the processing of your order may be delayed. Additionally, please be aware that customizations may result in changes to the Rightslink quick price information for your order, including the cost of shipping.
ASM supports the Guidance for Industry practices provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Standards for Reprints and E-prints Purchased by Organizations developed by the American Medical Association.
All commercial reprints will have the following ASM disclaimer text center aligned at the top of every article title page:
This reprint is provided courtesy of [COMPANY NAME], which has a financial interest in the product/topic discussed in this article. The American Society for Microbiology does not assume responsibility for the content of the following information.
Please refer to the Author Reprint paragraph in the Publication Fees section of the Instructions to Authors for information on ordering author reprints.
ePrint Requests (multiple downloads)
ePrints offer secure and easy electronic access to ASM journal content, allowing requestors to set the number of times that the ePrint can be downloaded. Requestors are able to disseminate ePrints of ASM journal articles via broadcast emails, on company websites, or during presentations to physicians. ePrints can be used in conjunction with or in place of article reprints.
In order to obtain a quote for ePrints, please send an email to reprints2@cadmus.com.
Please note that ASM reviews and approves each order. If your request is denied, you will be contacted within two business days. Additionally, each ePrint includes the following disclaimer: Print Copies Are Not Intended for Distribution, Display or Promotion.
If you have additional questions about ePrints, please direct your inquiry to journals@asmusa.org.
LAST UPDATED: February 2018