Copyright in Medical Communications

Industry Insights

In-the-field professionals share their perspectives on common copyright and compliance challenges in medical communications.

Q: Any suggestions for a situation when the agency and your client’s legal team have different interpretations of copyright compliance or adhering to reuse guidelines? 

For their perspective on this reader questions, CCC reached out to Zoe Preston, Editorial Support Services Manager, at Nucleus Global.

This is a difficult question to address because there could be legal issues that may be governed by a variety of contractual clauses specific to each client. With that said, open and honest dialogue is always the best approach, as it may be a simple misunderstanding of what is required and how copyright law is interpreted in a particular country/region.  If the issue isn’t cleared up through direct conversation with the client, you should talk to your lawyer for advice on how to proceed. 

18 December 2024

Industry Insights is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal or other professional advice. If you have legal questions, please consult your own legal counsel. Also note that the opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of CCC or its affiliates and may be specific to a particular jurisdiction. The content on this page is provided “as is” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

In promotional or medical material sent by email to external healthcare professionals, is it possible to add links to bibliographic references so that the HCP can consult the original documents that support the material?

For her thoughts on this question, CCC reached out to Elizabeth Jennings, Associate Editorial Director at Lucid Group, based in the UK.

In this kind of promotional or medical material, or in pre-reads for HCPs prior to a meeting, it is often the case that you may want to include links to bibliographic references. However, rules around hyperlinks can vary to jurisdiction to jurisdiction, therefore it’s always best to reach out to the rightsholder or your organization’s copyright officer or legal counsel for guidance about how your particular use may be treated in your jurisdiction.

11 December 2024

When talking about a scientific paper or study on a YouTube video for educational purposes, do I need to have permission from the Publisher?

For his thoughts on this question, CCC reached out to Ben Kennedy, Collections and Permissions Manager at Oxford University Press, based in the UK.

My opinion is that discussing or making reference to a scientific paper without sharing content/images, generally would not require permission from the rightsholder. However, if any figures/tables/illustrations are shown or reproduced on screen, I advise you to request permission from the rightsholder. It’s always best to speak to your organization’s copyright officer or legal counsel to get more tailored recommendations on any permissions your specific use may require.

4 December 2024

Securing copyright permission to reuse and share content in presentations, symposiums. and conferences can be overwhelming! It can take considerable time and attention away from the other essential tasks I need to focus on as part of the complete medical communications project. Can I make this process easier?

CCC reached out to Tracy Forrester, Manager, Reprints Operations at CCC for her perspective.

Our Reprints and Permissions Services team manage these types of projects every day. We know that preparing for these types of external presentations to wide audiences can be challenging. There are often multiple pieces of content from many sources; even multiple types of uses needed for a single project. Our team is here to help. CCC provides full-service management of complex permissions projects as well as fulfillment of bulk commercial article reprints and ePrints. My team of experienced licensing professionals use CCC Marketplace, RightsLink for Permissions, and work directly with rightsholders to gather permissions costs for your review and approval. We’ve expanded the permissions team in the last year so we can jump in on even more projects on behalf of agencies and life science companies. You can learn more about Reprints and Permissions Services here or feel free to reach out to me directly at reprintsinfo@copyright.com.

20 November 2024

CCC eBook

Guide to Understanding Copyright and Content Reuse in Medical Communications

This detailed guide was created by CCC to offer information on copyright law, both U.S. and internationally, insights into the basics of copyright ownership, what is and isn’t protected by U.S. copyright law, and strategies for evaluating companies’ copyright compliance and making informed decisions about everyday content reuse.

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A Single Destination for Your Copyright Permissions, Content, and Reprints Needs

CCC Marketplace is an e-commerce site with more than 175 million searchable works from thousands of leading STM publishers and societies. Marketplace allows you to get permissions faster, purchase content, and request reprints without having to navigate multiple publisher websites and unique workflows.

You can also search, order, and manage multiple permissions requests at once and manage your invoices and payments in a single system using Marketplace’s project workflow tools.

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