4 - Copyright and Licence to Publish

Summary

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of copyright, publishing rights and licensing options from an author's perspective. It serves as a guide to understanding some of the common terminologies an author may encounter in journal policies or publishing agreements and contracts. It also discusses the development of rights retention, especially in the context of open access (Chapter 3). It does not, however, cover copyright issues related to the use of materials such as fair use and it is not intended to provide legal advice. For a comprehensive guide of copyright in libraries, archives and information services, please refer to Graham Cornish's Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services (2019). In this chapter, we focus on the question: why should authors care about copyright, publishing rights and licensing options when they decide where to publish?

Copyright

What is copyright? According to the US Copyright Office, ‘Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression’ (US Copyright Office, n.d.). Generally speaking, copyright prevents people from copying, distributing, renting or lending, performing, showing or making adaptations of your work, including putting it on the internet (www.gov.uk/copyright). In most countries, copyright lasts a minimum of life plus 50 years, however the duration is different in regions and for different media types.

In Who Owns Academic Work, McSherry (2001) states that facts, either natural or historical, cannot be copyrighted; however, expressions and interpretations can be copyrighted. Copyright protection is automatically granted to the authors or creators of original works. However, the copyright of scholarly works does not always belong to the authors. First, a university and research institution, as the employer, is the first owner of the copyright in the work in some cases, although most scholarly and pedagogical works can be exempted under the institution's intellectual property policy. Secondly, authors may be requested to transfer copyright to the publisher when an article or a book is accepted for publication.

For many academic authors, the copyright question is overlooked because they do not expect monetary rewards when publishing in an academic journal or even a monograph. But should authors transfer copyright to the publisher? After the copyright has been transferred, an author no longer owns the article, meaning that they cannot sell, distribute or share the article.