Q. How do I locate/contact a copyright owner?

Copyright owners for works with commercial value often make themselves (or their agents) easy to find. A simple online search may return contact information.

Contact information for professional creators and their agents is aggregated by many resources, including:

• WATCH File
• International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO)
• Author’s Guild (US)
• Copyright Alliance (US)
• The Copyright Society
• Society of Authors (UK)
• Artists Rights Society
• Visual Artists and Galleries Association

Libraries and archives that collect the works of individuals or organizations can have contact information for relevant copyright holders. Even if the work you are using is not from such a collection, the information may apply to your copyright search. Try searching for “[Name of Creator] Papers” or “[Name of Creator] Collection” in a search engine or in these online resources:

• WorldCat
• ArchiveGrid
• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
• U.S. Copyright Office
• Internet Archive Catalog of Copyright Entries (July 1892 - Dec. 1977)