In some cases, you may need to seek permission from a rights holder to use their copyright material. Particularly in the case of academic authors, there is a good chance that they will be pleased to provide permission. You will need to keep a record of correspondence to demonstrate that permission has been given.

Guidelines for when seeking permission.

• Greeting / Be polite
• Who you are, where you’re from. 
• What you want to use, and where you found it.
• How you want to use it and intent to change it in any way. Be as complete and transparent as possible. 
• Make a clear request for permission to use the item in the way that’s been outlined. And ask the holder to confirm they can give you permission to use the item, since some publisher agreements give the copyright to the publisher. 
   

An example letter is available for repurposing.

See https://canterbury.libguides.com/copyright-at-uc/thesis for more advice around copyright and your thesis.