How do I get permission to use screen caps from films in my work?

Question

I'm writing a dissertation on film violence and have used a number of screen caps within it to illistrate my points. How do I go about getting permission to use them? Who actually owns the images etc? Please help, it has to be in at the end of next week and up until today I thought I could just acknowledge that I didn't intend to infringe on copyright etc.

Answer 1

Don't worry, the copyright law let you use copyrighted material for education purposes on collage; is called "fair use" doctrine. They still own the copyright of the captures but you can use them for your work.

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html#movies

"How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians."

Answer 2

I think that if you are just going to use them for school, you just have to cite your sources. However, if you want to be very careful you can find out the name of the person/group owning the copy-write and send them a letter asking for permission.

Answer 3

Artman nailed the answer. As long as it's for educational purposes, no infringement. But do cite your sources.