Re-Using own figure from IEEE conference proceedings, which have not yet been published

Question

Does anyone have experience with re-using their own figure from IEEE conference proceedings, which have not yet been published for another conference (not IEEE)?

I have contacted IEEE but have not yet received a useful answer. Usually with IEEE getting permission for copyrighted work is very simple. However, if the paper is not yet published on xplore.ieee.org/ then there is no standard procedure, and I was hoping someone already had to get permission for a not yet published figure.

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I finally received an email from IEEE including the permission. To get there, I contacted all contacts that are listed on the standard reply one gets when messaging [email protected].

Answer 1

From a purely scientific context you can always cite a figure the same way you quote verbatim text. This guide might be helpful for citing figures.

Now on the other hand, there is also the aspect of legal copyright. As such it is important know where you plan to re-use it. By submitting your work to IEEE and signing their copyright transfer form, you gave the ownership of that figure to IEEE. This applies regardless on whether your accepted paper is already available on IEEE Xplore or not. If your intended re-use will be at IEEE you should be fine, since they have the rights on that figure and there will be no conflict (you should still cite it though). If you are planing to use it for your thesis or a journal or conference at another publisher I would recommend to re-do it (still add a reference to the original).

PS: For a legally binding answer you should consult a lawyer. If in doubt follow quantum's comment and take the safe path.