

Ask HN: Can I use a survey developed by a university professor? - batman

Hello HN,<p>I would like to use a survey developed by a university professor on our website legitimately. Unfortunately, this professor passed away in 1988. Since then there has been a number of academic publications that have used his surveys by simply citing his work.<p>Am I allowed to use his surveys providing I cite his work? Or are there a few more legal or copyright implications I need to consider and it is best to contact his former university and publisher?<p>I look forward to any guidance.
Thank you.
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batman
For anyone's future reference, the university professors I spoke with
recommended the following for academic or research purposes.:

1) If the survey is publicly available and does not have controlled usage you
can simply cite the source of the survey.

2) If you modify some part of it you will need to be explicit about that e.g.
"as modified in October 2010 by (your name)" or "as modified by the author."

For commercial purposes this might be different, in which case you should
contact the publisher and make a request.

My situation is for research purposes but I will contact the publisher to be
sure.

