Policies and agreements vary considerably between publishers, and sometimes even between journals owned or managed by the same publisher. The SHERPA/RoMEO database offers a summary of publisher copyright & self-archiving policies.
Publisher policies evolve over time and the general terms stated on their web sites can vary from the terms actually sent to authors, so it is important to read the agreement itself.
Here are some examples of the breadth of Academic Journal Author Agreements:
Author agreements come in many forms and at different points in the submission process. Some publishers use "click-through" agreements when submitting a manuscript for the first time in a publisher's online submission portal. Other agreements are electronic documents signed by the author after manuscript acceptance. In every case, with every publisher, look for language that mirrors the following examples of problematic statements:
- Copyright to article and any graphic elements assigned to [publisher] upon acceptance of article for publication.
- Copyright agreement Includes the exclusive, assignable, sublicensable right to reproduce, publish, distribute, transmit, make available, store the article.
- Article may be used in whole or in part in electronic, print, or download. Includes the right to alter the article to the extent necessary for such use.
- Default transfer: “Contributor assigns to [publisher] all copyright in and to the contribution, including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute, and otherwise use the contribution in whole or in part in electronic and print editions of the journal and in derivative works throughout the world, in all languages and in all media of expression now known or later developed, and to license or permit others to do so.”
- Electronic “signature” provides agreement to transfer policy, despite the fact the article has not been accepted until upload later in the process.
- The right to post on authors’ institutional or governmental website is permitted only “to whatever extent is required by the author(s) institution or by whoever funded the research reported in the paper.”
- Copyright transfer agreement provides that author transfers to [publisher] the management of rights and permissions associated with your work, which includes defending against improper use by third parties. Copyright licensing agreement provides that author grants [publisher] permission to manage the rights and permissions associated with your work, and gives [publisher] the right, but not the obligation, to defend your work against improper use by third parties.
Some transfer agreements, however, contain clauses that are beneficial for authors. Examples include:
- Authors grant to [publisher] an exclusive license to publish. Authors may use their material in other publications provided [publisher] is acknowledged as the original place of publication and [publisher] is notified in advance.
- Publisher permits author to apply Creative Commons licenses to their published works so long as proper attribution is given to [publisher].
- Authors retain right to use all or part of their articles, including publisher’s PDF, in personal compilations or other publications of his/her own works, including the author’s personal web pages, for use in lecture, or classroom purposes. Must provide complete citation and describe any modifications.
- Authors retain broad rights despite copyright transfer, including the rights to (1) Reuse figures, illustrations, tables, (2) Make free copies for personal and classroom use, (3) Make, distribute copies to colleagues, (4) Present at a meeting, conference, distribute copies to those attending, (5) Use work in printed compilation of author’s works, (6) Prepare other derivative works.
