Permissions to reproduce an image while writing review papers

Question

I've seen some review papers use images from other articles under the 'adapted from [ref]' description while most others use the standard 'reproduced with permission from [ref]'. Does the former not require asking for permissions from the original publisher? If I redraw images myself, is it sufficient to simply cite the reference at the correct places and not ask for permissions?

If I ask for the permissions to reproduce a large set of images from a variety of different publishers for my review paper which is to be published in a particular journal X, and for some reason they reject the review; do I need to ask for the permissions again before sending the manuscript to another journal Y?

Answer 1

Usually the journal you are submitting to, will have instructions (even a form with legalese).

If it is just for your thesis, I don't think you need to be hyper legalistic, but ask for permission for the intended use (in your thesis). Email is sufficient (don't need a signature, but don't rely on word of mouth either. If part of the thesis ends up becoming an article later, just go back at that time and ask for the fuller permission using the journal's advised form or instructions.

Answer 2

In short:

In a review paper, you can reproduce parts of the articles you are reviewing, with proper citations.

In long:

Redrawing and reproducing images are different issues. The answers may vary in according to each country law, but I'm trying to give a general outline.

Information is free while its creative expression is protected by copyright. Therefore, you can take information from published images and draw your own, just as you can take information from an article and write your own text including that information. The resulting image is your own work, and the need to cite your source is mandatory in academia because of intellectual honesty, not because of copyright. However, your image wouldn't be your work if you had copied creative elements of the original work, just as a text is not your work if you copied sentences from someone else's work.

In the other hand, there are situations where you are allowed to reproduce other people's works. In the United States, fair use doctrine apply when limited reproduction of a work is justified and it doesn't cause an unfair prejudice to the copyright owner - copying for review purposes would fall into this category. Other countries have a more restricted right to quote which allows the cite of a part of a work for critics, review or discussion. Usually this right is extended to images and review papers would perfectly fit its purpose.