Once an article is accepted for publication, the author is asked to sign a standard agreement that most often transfers rights from the copyright owner (you) to the publisher. It is important to know what rights you have, what rights you may be giving up, what rights you need and that it is possible to transfer copyright while still retaining some rights for yourself, and others as well.
Title 17 of the U.S. Code is where you will find copyright law.
Brief video, produced by the Institute on Scholarly Communication in association with SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition).
Copyright protection is afforded as soon as a work has been fixed in a tangible medium, such as when a written work is printed or stored on a computer. Registration is not required.
Copyright grants authors the exclusive right to:
This means you can also:
As the author of a work you are the copyright holder unless and until you transfer the copyright to someone else in a signed agreement.
Normally, the copyright holder possesses the exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution, public performance, public display, and modification of the original work. An author who has transferred copyright without retaining these rights must ask permission unless the use is one of the statutory exemptions in copyright law, such as Fair Use.
Decisions concerning use of the work, such as distribution, access, pricing, updates, and any use restrictions belong to the copyright holder. Authors who have transferred their copyright without retaining any rights may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. That’s why it is important to retain the rights you need.
The law allows you to transfer copyright while holding back rights for yourself and others. This is the compromise that the SPARC Author Addendum helps you to achieve.
Therefore, authors should carefully read and fully understand the contracts they sign. Consider currents needs and future uses of the work. Retain the rights to accommodate those needs by negotiating your publishing agreement.