Is it necessary to obtain copyright permission to use clips or stills from films in a dissertation or thesis?
Our answer:
Although it is not strictly necessary to obtain copyright permission for clips and stills for films used in a dissertation, it is a best practice. In general, short pieces of a work are covered under fair use as long as they are used for educational purposes or news reporting, are used with significant commentary or criticism and the reuse is not reasonably expected to harm the market value of the original work. For detailed guidance on incorporating clips or stills from films in a dissertation or thesis, see the Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Fair Use Best Practices for Media Studies Publishing.
