A Guide To...Undergraduate Student Publishing

It is important to understand the basics of copyright and the rights you have as an author. Knowing these before you sign any publishing agreement will help you avoid giving away rights you someday need or wish you had kept.  For example, 

• Reusing your work in teaching, research, future publications and other professional activities
• Self-archiving your work
• Authorizing others to exercise any of these rights

Copyright protection exists from the moment  your work is created and fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

Copyright grants authors the exclusive right to:

• Reproduce the work (print, photocopy, publish, etc.)
• Distribute ( publish, sell, give away, etc.)
• Create a derivative work (translation, etc.)
• Perform the work publicly (play, concert, etc.)
• Display the work publicly (post on Internet, etc.)
• proper attribution and integrity (additional rights granted to authors of visual works)

Some publishing agreements ask authors to sign over all copyright, but that is not always necessary. It is becoming more common for authors to negotiate the terms of a publishing agreement.  Remember:

• The author is the copyright holder. (You own it until you transfer it in a signed agreement.)
• Assigning your rights matters. (Once transferred, you must have permission to use your own work)
• The copyright holder controls the work. (It's important to retain the rights you need.)
• Transferring copyright doesn’t have to be all or nothing. (Copyright is a "bundle" of rights; you can  transfer copyright while holding back rights for yourself and others.)

• Transferring copyright to the publisher often creates significant barriers for authors who wish to reuse or share their work, or allow others to use it.
• Contracts may restrict the dissemination of one’s scholarship by preventing authors from making and distributing copies, posting on personal websites or in digital archives, or using for electronic course reserves.
• Funding agencies may request or require that work created with their funds be made available openly on the web.
• Author’s institution may have an open access policy or mandate.

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. 

SPARC :  Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition - educational advocacy group supporting open access and responsible stewardship of intellectual property in scholarly publishing

• Author's Rights brochure

Cornell University Guide to Negotiating and Amending Author Agreements

Phrases to Look for in Publisher Agreements This list of examples and stipulations occurring in various copyright agreement forms (dated 2008) provides questions authors should ask when determining what rights to retain.

ACRL Scholarly Communication Toolkit:  Author's Rights - collection of resources to assist authors with understanding  and making  informed decisions regarding copyright

SHERPA/RoMEO - use to identify publisher's policies regarding the self-archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories.

Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine - choose from several access options to generate a PDF contract addendum that can be printed and submitted to your publisher.