Home Rules IEEE Using illustrations, tables, or figures

Using illustrations, tables, or figures

In-text citations

Mentioning and quoting text and ideas from others requires only in-text citation and inclusion in the reference list. It is different if you re-use parts of works by inserting pictures, figures, tables and the like in the text. These are works that have their own copyright protections.

If you want to re-use images or other illustrations in the text, you must consider necessity, citation rights, copyright, and privacy.

  • Is it necessary? Does the illustration provide significant information to the text, or is it just for decoration? Images and illustrations should add something that the text cannot give the reader.
  • Fair use: The Copyright Act (åndsverkloven) (åvl) §29 https://lovdata.no/lov/2018-06-15-40/§29 and åvl §37 https://lovdata.no/lov/2018-06-15-40/§37
  • Privacy: Can the people in the photograph be identified?
  • Copyright: Who owns the image? Some images are open for everyone to use, but most are protected by copyright
  • To use an entire table, figure, or image from another source, you usually need to obtain permission from the author or rights holder. The author must in any case be cited, and the source referred to.

Publishers often take over the rights to published articles and books, in such cases one must go through a formal process with the publisher to obtain permission. Sometimes you have to pay to reuse tables, figures, or pictures.

  • Many publishers allow the re-use of tables, figures, and pictures for scientific commentary, non-commercial research or for educational purposes when full credit is given by the author and no more than three figures or tables from the same source are used.
  • You can re-use parts of a table without having to obtain permission, cf. åvl § 29, but the author must be cited and the source must be included.
  • If the creator has been dead for 70 years or more then the table, figure, or image can be used without permission, but you must still cite the author.
  • For further information, see the APA manual, chapter 12.14-12.18 (APA, 2020).

All images, figures, and tables you re-use in the text must have an explanatory copyright notice. For all photos, figures, and tables, except those you have taken or created yourself, you must credit the author and provide copyright information.

This applies regardless of the reference style you use, and is not specifically related to the IEEE style.

The copyright notice looks like this in the APA style:

From Title, by Artist, Year, Publisher (url). Copyright status

Or

Adapted from Title, by Artist, Year, Publisher (url). Copyright status

In addition, these works must be included in the reference list.