Copyright Permission Guidelines

Content Usage

Unless otherwise indicated, all information contained on this website such as text, graphics, logos and images is copyrighted by and proprietary to the American Heart Association, Inc. and may not be reproduced in whole or in part by persons, organizations, or corporations other than the AHA, its affiliates, division and units without prior written permission of the Legal Department at the AHA National Center.

How To Request Permission

To obtain permission to use or copy AHA-copyrighted materials from the AHA’s website or from AHA printed materials, videos or audio materials, you must submit your request in writing by using our online form.

Requests must include:

Requestor’s name; company/institution name; address; telephone number; fax number and/or e-mail address; title; copyright date; page number or website URL address; and the exact material to be used

The request must state exactly how the material will be used and distributed and if the materials will be sold.

Note: Incomplete requests will be returned. International requests must include an e-mail address.

How long will it take to process my request?

Please allow 10 business days from receipt of all required information for a response. Additional time is required for requests to translate materials or reprint recipes.

General Guidelines

Permission may be granted to copy AHA material if the request meets these criteria:

The requested material does not exceed 10 percent of text or video footage, or 25 percent of charts and illustrations. (This rule does not apply to ECC materials, consumer publications or cookbooks.)

Material is being reproduced for educational purposes.

Material will not be used for a commercial or for-profit activity or to promote a commercial product.

The AHA copyright statement must be included on the reproduction.

Requests to broadcast videos on in-hospital Closed Circuit Television systems or Video On Demand require a receipt or packing slip showing that one copy of the video requested was ordered for and shipped to each address where the video will be broadcast.

Please note: Final approval is not granted until all fees and the Signed Use Agreement are received.

Permission will not be granted to:

  • Use any AHA service marks. (This includes the American Heart Association logo, the American Stroke Association logo and other service marks and logos owned by the AHA.)
  • Use AHA materials to endorse (implied or otherwise) a product, company or service.
  • Copy an entire publication, pamphlet, slide set or video. (Permission to publish, license or reproduce all or substantially all of an AHA copyrighted work will not be granted by the Legal Department through the copyright process but instead will be referred to the appropriate source.)
  • Use any material that has been discontinued or is under revision.
  • Modify or adapt AHA materials.

Fees

All requests that are granted will be assessed processing fees based on the schedule below:

Print only—$50 (Does not include translations, recipes or Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)/CPR materials.)

Electronic only—$100 (Does not include translations, recipes or Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)/CPR materials.)
See Electronic Use Guidelines for more information.

Electronic and Print—$150 (Does not include translations, recipes or Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)/CPR materials.)
See Electronic Use Guidelines for more information.

Fee Schedule for Permission to Use Material From AHA Statements and Guidelines

**The $50 legal fee is a one-time processing fee not based on # of figs/tables and it may be $50, $100, $150 depending on final output format of the material**

Number of Figures or Tables

Hospitals, CME, Non-profit Publishers

Other Companies

1 to 3 figures or tables

$50 per figure or table

$250 per figure or table

4 to 5 figures or tables

$50 per figure or table

$500 per figure or table

No more than 10% of a book or chapter can be AHA material. Requests for more than 5 tables or figures will require a licensing agreement.

American College of Cardiology--American Heart Association Joint Guidelines

An additional $30 fee will be added to each approved request to use material from American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) Joint Guidelines documents.

Electronic Use Guidelines

Find more information on our guidelines for using AHA materials in electronic formats:

Guidelines for Use of American Heart Association Materials in Electronic Format

Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)/CPR Materials

Find more information on requests to use American Heart Association ECC/CPR materials:

Guidelines for use of American Heart Association Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC)/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Materials

Journals

Our journal publisher, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, handles copyright requests for articles from our journals that do not become AHA scientific statements or guidelines documents. If you need to request copyright permission for non-guideline and/or non-scientific statement material, please follow these steps:

  1. Go to the LWW Journals Online site(link opens in new window)(link opens in new window).
  2. Navigate to the desired journal homepage by selecting it from the alphabetical list.
  3. Search for the desired article on the journal website.
  4. From the search list, article abstract, or full-text view, you will find the hyperlink option Request Permission.

Recipes

Find more information on requests to use American Heart Association recipes:

Guidelines for Use of American Heart Association Recipes

Translations

Find more information on requests to translate AHA materials:

Guidelines for Requests to Translate American Heart Association Materials

Copyright Pages