Oxford LibGuides: Getting published: Author rights

Author rights

Authors are often unsure what rights they retain when signing a publisher agreement for a journal article. Our Bodleian iSkills workshop iSkills: Authors, copyright and open access covers the key issues.

Copyright

UK Intellectual Property Office guidance on copyright

Licenses

If publishing traditional route

You sign a Copyright Transfer Agreement or a Licence to Publish (Exclusive or Non-Exclusive)
No author payment; published article only available to subscribers.
Key question: What is the self-archiving policy for institutional repositories (e.g. ORA)? (green route OA)
Can you make the Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) freely available via ORA (possibly after an embargo period)?

If publishing OA (‘gold route’), either in a fully OA journal or a ‘hybrid’ one

Your article will be published freely available immediately
Often with a Creative Commons licence
Author retains copyright
Key question: Which CC licence to choose?
CC-BY (Creative Commons Attribution) mandatory if funder paying APC

Creative Commons
Find out the full range of options

Publishing agreements and permissions

What am I signing?
What do I need to do?
Which are suitable for funder/REF requirements

Useful links

OASIS - Copyright and Authors' Rights: A Briefing Paper
Author amendments to publisher agreements
see JISC/SURF Copyright Toolbox and SPARC Author Addendum for sample wording to assist authors in determining the rights which are important to them.
Martin Eve Blogpost
Martin Eve on Signing over copyright vs licensing your journal articles encouraged greater awareness among authors with regards to copyright transfer.
Ernesto Priego Blogpost
Ernesto Priego, On Reading the Small Print When It’s Too Late also encouraged authors to be more aware and negotiate licensing & access. ‘OA is not only about bringing down the barriers to access and reuse of scholarly publications. Behind it lies the desire to re-connect scholars with the fruits of their own work and to empower them to choose how.’
INLEXIO (editing/publishing services) Blogpost
INLEXIO (editing/publishing services) on Author copyright in the age of Open Access, on the issues around who owns what and when in Open Access publishing. It concludes ‘Understanding a publisher’s requirements and their implications should be an important part of the authors’ decision on where to publish their work.’

Workshops & classes

iSkills: Authors, copyright and open access - making it work for you
Authors are often unsure what rights they retain when signing the publisher agreement for a journal article. Your choices affect what you and others can do with your work. This introductory workshop deciphers the jargon and explains the pitfalls so you can understand your options and make informed decisions.

Contacts

Open Access Helpdesk
openaccess@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Research Data helpline
researchdata@ox.ac.uk

ORA Team
ora@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Symplectic Elements team
symplectic@admin.ox.ac.uk