Editorial Manual | Footnotes and other references

VI. Permission footnotes

When quoting more than a few paragraphs or reproducing tables and graphic material from a work in copyright, the author must obtain permission to reprint from the copyright owner. Copies of letters granting permission to reprint should be sent to the editors.

The form or wording used in the acknowledgement footnote should conform exactly to any specifications given by the copyright owner. The basic form for a footnote acknowledging permission to reprint is as follows:

¹ From Author, Title of Book (Place of publication and publisher). Copyright [year] by [copyright owner]. Reprinted by permission.

When an excerpt from a United Nations publication in copyright is reprinted in a United Nations document or another United Nations publication, it is not necessary to include a permission footnote. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to indicate that the work is in copyright by adding the phrase "Copyright [year] by the United Nations." at the end of the reference footnote.