These whimsical song lyrics, written more than 60 years ago, express a basic truth about copyright law: Using someone’s creative work without permission can be a very daring thing to do. An unhappy copyright owner may sue you, seeking monetary damages, preventing you from publishing your work, or both. On the other hand, by simply obtaining permission, you gain lawsuit-free access to the work you need. But how does one obtain permission? It often seems as if the task of acquiring rights is too tricky, troublesome, or timeconsuming. And in some cases, the task of acquiring permission may outweigh any benefits of legal security. But for most permission situations, the task can be quite simple and direct, and—surprise, surprise— you may learn that permission is not even required.