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Publishing Your Research

Copyright & Publishing

Copyright is automatic and protects both published and unpublished original works.

Your Author Rights

You know what you write, but do you know your rights?

  • You own what you create. As the author of a work you are automatically the copyright holder. Copyright registration is not required.
  • You retain your copyright unless you transfer the copyright to someone else in a signed agreement, such as a journal publisher.
  • The copyright holder controls the work. 
  • Transferring copyright doesn't have to be "all or nothing."
  • Your assignment of rights to publishers could hinder your future uses of your work.

What happens when I publish?

Often when an author publishes they sign a copyright transfer agreement or a publishing agreement. In a copyright transfer agreement you typically will sign over the full copyright to the publisher.

The agreement may allow you to retain such rights, but you no longer hold copyright. You likely won't be able to do the following:

  • Post the article on your personal website
  • Use the article as a chapter in your dissertation
  • Publish the article again in an anthology of your work

It is very possible that you would be violating copyright on your own article. Be sure to read your agreement to know your rights and negotiate the agreement.

Read your Copyright Transfer Agreement or Publishing Agreement

Know your rights before you sign a publishing agreement!

This video overviews a copyright transfer agreement to familiarize you with how to understand a copyright transfer agreement, what to look out for in your journal publishing contracts, and your options.

Helpful Tip: Negotiate your contract

Publishers only need a license to publish, not your full copyright. By negotiating your publishing agreements you can retain more of your rights as an author.

Publisher Policies

Below are links to the general copyright and archiving policies for major publishers. If your publisher is not included in this list you can look them up in the SHERPA/RoMEO database, or consult the publisher's website.