This document provides an overview of copyright as it relates to dissertations. It discusses that copyright provides exclusive rights to authors for limited periods of time, including reproduction, distribution and derivatives. Works in the public domain and those by the US government are not protected. Fair use and statutory exemptions allow certain uses without permission. The document outlines a workflow for determining if permission is needed for third-party content and how to request permission. It also addresses privacy, publicity and contractual concerns when publishing a dissertation.