STM Permissions Guidelines

The STM Permissions Guidelines are an agreement between STM Signatory Publishers allowing reuse of small numbers of figures and small amounts of text of one Signatory Publisher in a journal article or ebook published by another STM Signatory Publisher, free of charge. IOP Publishing (IOP) is a signatory to the Guidelines. You can check whether a publisher is a signatory, as well as view full terms and conditions at their website.

The quota for free reuse under the STM Guidelines:

Up to three figures (including tables) from a journal article or book chapter, but:
Not more than five figures from a whole book or journal issue/edition;
Not more than six figures from an annual journal volume; and
Not more than three figures from works published by a single publisher for an article, and not more than three figures from works published by a single publisher for a book chapter (and in total not more than thirty figures from a single publisher for re-publication in a book, including a multi-volume book, with different authors per chapter)
Single text extracts of less than 400 words from a journal article or book chapter, but not more than a total of 800 words from a whole book or journal issue/edition

Do I need to request permission to reuse content from an STM Publisher’s publication?

If the STM Signatory Publisher from which you wish to use figures/text extracts is listed in the first, ‘Automatic process’ column of the STM Permissions Guidelines, then you do not need permission if the amount of figures/text you want to use is within the quota allowed by the STM Permissions Guidelines. Conversely, if the STM Signatory Publisher from which you wish to use figures/text extracts is listed in the second ‘Notification required’ column of the STM Permissions Guidelines, then use within the quota allowed by the STM Permissions Guidelines will be permitted free of charge, but permission must be obtained from the STM Signatory Publisher.

What do I do if the content I want to reuse in an STM Publisher’s publication exceeds the quota?

If use of the figure(s) or text exceeds the amount of reuse the STM Permissions Guidelines allow, then express permission must always be obtained from the STM Signatory Publisher, and they may charge a fee for this permission.

Do the STM Guidelines apply to adapted/changed figures?

No. The STM Permissions Guidelines do not apply if you have adapted/changed the figure in any way. Express permission should always be obtained from the copyright owner of the figure.