Received my reply from Henry Rollins, stating he doesn’t want me to use his words in my work.

Bummer. The thing is, I don’t actually even need his permission to use freely available quotes from a public personality. But it would be nice to have his goodwill. As someone remarked, what are the chances of him or his mates reading it anyway? And most funny of all, just rename him Renry Hollins.

Currently chasing it up with Ethics and Copyright peeps before I decide how to approach, if at all.

Ethics says this:

As per the guidance provided under section 4.4 of the GU Research Ethics Manual, if the final output of the research is creative, then the work may be considered exempt from ethics review under certain conditions. If the quotes from Mr Rollins are taken from public domain sources then, with appropriate citation of the source, they can be used without ethics approval. 

For further ethical consideration of these matters, you may wish to refer to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, which under Section 1.8 requires that: “Researchers must comply with ethical principles of integrity, respect for persons, justice and beneficence.” In addition, Section 1.11 of the National Statement under “Respect” requires that: “Researchers and their institutions should respect the privacy, confidentiality and cultural sensitivities of the participants and, where relevant, of their communities. Any specific agreements made with the participants or the community should be fulfilled.” 

They also say this: As Mr Rollins has indicated his preference that you do not use his words for your research, you may wish to consider whether his request ought to be respected.

So.