Helpful Resources
Dissertation Copyright
In the United States, you automatically own the copyright in your original creative authorship, such as your dissertation, once it is fixed in a tangible form (i.e., written down or recorded). United States law does not require you to include a copyright notice on your dissertation or to formally register with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to secure copyright protection over your work. However, there are some benefits to including a copyright notice and registering your work. See the Copyright Guide for more information or to schedule a consultation.
Using Other Copyrighted Material in Your Dissertation
If you use third-party copyrighted material (images, quotations, datasets, figures), you are responsible for re-use of that material (see the Policy on Unauthorized Copying of Copyrighted Media). In many cases, you may be able to use copyrighted material under the “fair use” provision of U.S. copyright law. Consult the PhD Dissertation Formatting Guide and the PhD Dissertation Formatting Checklist for information on how to submit written permission from a copyright holder. Typically, you will need to request a permission letter and upload the letter as an Administrative Document in ETD Administrator.
If you still have questions regarding copyright and “fair use” refer to the Penn Libraries Copyright Guide or email copyright@upenn.libanswers.com for further support.
Including a Copyright Page in Your Dissertation
Including a copyright page in your dissertation is optional but recommended. For details on how to format the copyright page, consult the PhD Dissertation Formatting Guide and the PhD Dissertation Formatting Checklist.
Dissertations Based on Joint Work
For dissertations based on joint work with other researchers, a unique and separate dissertation must be presented by each degree candidate. You must include a concise account of your unique contribution to the joint work, and remainder of the dissertation must be authored solely by you. Authorship of an entire dissertation by more than one degree candidate is not allowed.
Using Your Own Previously Published Material in Your Dissertation
University of Pennsylvania policy allows you to include your own previously published work or articles submitted for publication as part of the dissertation with the following conditions:
- You must obtain approval of the dissertation committee and Graduate Group Chairperson.
- You must obtain written permission from the copyright owner, which may be the journal, publisher, and/or any co-authors, unless you are the sole copyright holder (depends on your publishing agreement).
- You must upload any permission letters in ETD Administrator as an Administrative Document titled “Permission Letter – Do Not Publish.”
- For dissertations based on joint work with other researchers, a unique and separate dissertation must be presented by each degree candidate. You must include a concise account of your unique contribution to the joint work, and remainder of the dissertation must be authored solely by you. Authorship of an entire dissertation by more than one degree candidate is not allowed.
- Your dissertation must be formatted as a single document with consistent formatting and styles throughout. If you are using multiple previously published articles, make sure to make the formatting consistent with the rest of the document.
When using previously published or in press work, you must disclose this information in your dissertation in the following format:
- Under the Chapter title, list the full citation for the previously published/in-press article in the citation style used in your Bibliography.
- If it is a jointly authored article, describe your contribution to the work in a separate sentence.
Example:
Patent and Intellectual Property
Any inventions that you make as part of your research for your degree and disclosed as part of your dissertation, and any patent or other intellectual property rights arising therefrom, are governed by the policies of the University of Pennsylvania, including the Patent and Tangible Research Property Policies and Procedures and Policy Relating to Copyrights and Commitment of Effort for Faculty. For more information, please contact the Penn Center for Innovation.
There are strict deadlines under U.S. and international law regarding the timing for filing patent applications and the public availability of your dissertation. Contact the Penn Center for Innovation to discuss whether there might be a patentable invention disclosed in your dissertation prior to deposit of your dissertation.