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So, I've seen a really nice figure in a paper; what's the best way to 'get a copy'?
Will it be on the publisher's website? Do I need to draw my own version? Email the author?
And, finally, how does the answer vary for (a) those wishing to republish the figure in their own work, (b) those not wishing to publish the figure e.g. for student coursework.
Unless the paper is available under a very permissive license, such as Creative Commons Attribution, you will need to seek permission. (There may be other legal possibilities, such as fair use or fair dealing, but that's a little subtle. See this story for more information on that.)
The copyright owner is the person you need permission from. Who that is will generally be marked on the published paper (often it is the publisher, and sometimes the author). If the publisher holds the copyright, then it is still polite to ask permission from the authors as well, although this is not legally required.
Big commercial publishers will often have a department for dealing with this, typically with a name like "Permissions". If you can't find such a department, then you can try just writing to the journal in question (look at their web page to try to find e-mail addresses).
If you are lucky, they will quickly approve your use of the figure. If you are not lucky, they will ask for money.
And, finally, how does the answer vary for (a) those wishing to republish the figure in their own work,
There are definitely legal issues here.
(b) those not wishing to publish the figure e.g. for student coursework.
If you never make the work available to the public, then it is hard to imagine that the copyright owner will ever learn about it or complain (and they would look foolish if they tried to sue someone for using their figure in a homework assignment). However, you still have a moral obligation to cite the source of the figure.
In addition to the answer by @AnonymousMathematician, it's important to remember how to cite a figure from another paper in your own. This link gives a good explanation on how to do so: for publications using the APA style guide, for instance, it should be in the format
Figure #. Description/Note. Adapted from “Title of Article,” by F. M. Author and C. D. Author, year, Title of Journal, volume, p. xx. Copyright year by the Name of Copyright Holder. Adapted [or Reprinted] with permission.
In case some one wants IEEE-related answer (similar to what other responders have said), see page 17 of this IEEE presentation:
Reuse of Published Materials
You must cite and acknowledge any published materials that you make re-use of
Examples: Diagrams/figures from an existing paper
Extracted and re-used => must get permission from author/publisher (copyright owner) and cite and acknowledge
Redrawn with modifications => should cite and indicated “adapted from” or “based on”
This includes your own prior published work!
The prestigious American Institute of Physics (AIP) has a FAQ page that is golden:
https://publishing.aip.org/authors/author-permission-faq
Answered questions include:
Continuing with aeismail comment under ElCid's answer,
I edited this because different publishers have different guidelines. In some cases, you can say "Reprinted from Ref. XX with permission," and the longer copyright notice isn't required. – aeismail
The AIP states the following:
[...] The original publisher will provide you with their preferred wording for the credit line (in most cases). A credit line consisting only of “Used with permission” is not sufficient. An example of a typical complete credit line appears as:
Reproduced with permission from J. Org. Chem. 63, 99 (1998). Copyright 1998 American Chemical Society.
Note that even when reusing material in the public domain (for which obtaining permission does not apply), you must include an appropriate credit line, which states the original source. An example of an appropriate credit line for material in the public domain follows:
Reprinted from A. H. Harvey and J. C. Bellows, Evaluation and Correlation of Steam Solubility Data for Salts and Minerals of Interest in the Power Industry, NIST Technical Note 1387 (U.S. GPO, Washington, DC, 1997).
