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Managing Your Rights

Managing your copyright effectively will benefit you now and in the future. Traditional publication agreements typically require a transfer of copyright from the author to the publisher; these arrangements, which are variously known as “Copyright Transfer Agreements” or “Publication Agreements,” often transfer all of your rights to the publisher as a single bundle. While this may work for some, it is not always in the best interest of the author(—)or their work(—)to do so, which is why it’s critical to know your options when seeking a publisher.

Research which publishers have the best agreements for your needs

Whether the journal you select is a fully open access, hybrid, or a traditional subscription model, the first step is to review and compare their copyright policies. The copyright policies of many journals and publishers can be found on Sherpa’s open policy finder. Investigate which policies match your goals, both as a researcher and as a teacher.

As you narrow your list of publishers, consider the following strategies for managing your copyright:

Negotiate the terms of your agreement

Authors can negotiate with their publishers about transferring only those rights needed for publication, while retaining the rights which govern non-commercial uses of their work. This process is referred to as “unbundling” your rights.

There are many publishers who are willing to negotiate the publishing agreement. Determine what terms of the agreement are amenable to you and which are not and then negotiate for the terms that fit your needs. In the end, only you can make the decision as to whether or not to sign the agreement.

Attach an author’s addendum to the publisher agreement

  • The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) offers a template addendum to modify standard publishing agreements. The SPARC Author’s Addendum can be included when an author submits a traditional publishing agreement. The addendum asserts the author’s right to copy and distribute the work for non-commercial purposes.
  • The Big 10 Academic Alliance, a consortium of twelve mid-western research universities, has also developed an addendum that can be attached to publishing agreements. This addendum likewise allows the author to retain the rights to their work for teaching and research purposes.

Rather than transfering ownership of your work to the publisher, consider granting them an exclusive or non-exclusive license. An exclusive license is one in which the copyright holder grants to the publisher sole permission for using the work for a certain period of time. A non-exclusive license is when the copyright holder allows multiple people to use the work. For examples of non-exclusive licenses, check into Creative Commons licenses.

Additional Resources