NKS Permissions

We encourage further development of the science in A New Kind of Science ("NKS") and other material on this Site. At the same time, we do need to protect against misappropriation of our intellectual property and inadequate attribution. We expect that most of the time people who wish to use the material found on this Site will know what is appropriate. To assist people who may be unsure, we have developed the following guidelines to support the copyright page in A New Kind of Science. Please email us with any further questions you may have.

    General Guidelines
  • Personal use is not restricted. Restrictions apply only to material you wish to present publicly or use commercially.
  • There is no charge for use in academic work, but adequate citation must be given.
  • All ideas and results derived from NKS should have references back to NKS.
  • All images, whether published in NKS or generated by NKS Explorer ("NKSX") should include appropriate citation. NKS Explorer generated images should include attribution to the software in addition to the methodology found in NKS.
  • Notice of our intellectual property rights should be incorporated whenever appropriate. This is essential in informing third parties of these rights, and preventing inadvertent infringement.
  • Permission to use NKS materials in no way implies approval or endorsement of the substance or quality of your work. Any notation about the use of NKS or NKS Explorer images must not imply endorsement by Wolfram.
  • Any use of copyrighted work beyond that specified in the fair use guidelines issued by the U.S. Copyright Office must be authorized by this page or other explicit permission.
  • We would appreciate receiving two copies of any published work that builds on NKS or incorporates images generated by NKSX. This is for archival purposes, and it allows us to compile a public bibliography for the NKS community.


  • Notes about Specific Types of Use
  • Classroom Teaching - If materials are handed out to students they should reference NKS or NKSX and provide the URL: www.wolframscience.com
  • Academic Papers, Monographs & Textbooks - There should be appropriate citation to NKS as a primary source, and any use of NKSX should be described in a methods section, or mentioned in the acknowledgments if its use is substantial.
  • Images - Attribution for images from or based on NKS, or generated by NKSX, should appear in the caption of the figure.
  • Popular Books, Art Books, Commercial Art & Decorative/packaging elements - Some fees may be required. Please contact us for details.
  • Journalism - No fees are required for materials for journalists covering Wolfram and the ideas in NKS, but appropriate attribution and copyright notices must be included.
  • Use in a movie - Any use should be credited; contact us for details.
  • Museum - Exhibit should explain in words the source of the material presented.

We would appreciate knowing about your uses or intended uses of NKS material. This will help us in refining these guidelines and our policies. Please at ip@wolframscience.com.

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