When you submit a work to a publisher, you need to sign a publishing agreement. Note that the agreement may alternatively be called an author licence, contract, copyright transfer agreement or author agreement.
Before you sign the agreement, read it carefully and make sure that you understand the publisher's conditions. If you don't, you may agree to conditions that will prevent you from communicating or reusing your work. Communicating your work includes loading it to eSource, the DBS institutional repository, or other online sites. Reusing your work includes reproducing all or part (e.g. text, an image or diagram) of the work such as in a presentation or future publication.
Assignment of copyright is usually permanent, unless stated otherwise. Publishing agreements are frequently irrevocable.
Publishing agreements vary between publishers and the type of publication e.g. a book, book chapter, journal article, conference paper.
If the publisher does not have a publishing agreement, the publisher can only publish the article for the purpose in which it was submitted. They would not be able to re-publish the article elsewhere without permission from the author.
The agreement will address how copyright in the work will be managed e.g.:
Use the Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine to help you generate a PDF form, outlining certain rights that you wish to retain. Attach this form to the journal copyright agreement that you send to the publisher.
Note that some publishers will be more willing than others to modify their publishing agreement.
The quality of a publisher is an important consideration when choosing where to publish your research. The best way to establish and progress your academic career is to publish with a reputable publisher.
Book publishers that you need to investigate carefully are print-on-demand, vanity and self publishers. They may not meet the criteria for research assessment exercises at Dublin Business School.
Publisher members of COPE?
Accepted Version: the final manuscript of a journal article as accepted for publication. This version incorporates the changes made as a result of the peer review process but not the publisher's copyediting and formatting. Equivalent terms are Accepted Manuscript and Postprint.
Exclusive Licence: a licence under which the licensee is the only person who can use the work in the way(s) covered by the license. In publishing agreements, the copyright owner may grant an exclusive licence to a publisher to publish the work. During the period of the licence, the copyright owner is not entitled to license another publisher to publish the work.
Nonexclusive Licence: a licence under which a copyright owner grants permission to another party to use their work but may continue to use their work or grant others permission to use the work in the way specified in the Licence. If possible, this is the best kind of licene to grant because it allows you grant identical or similar conditions to others and to continue using the work yourself in the way that you choose.
Published Version: The final version as published, including the publisher's copyediting and formatting.
Submitted Version: The version of a manuscript submitted to a journal editor, prior to peer review. Equivalent term is Pre-Print.
Third Party Material: material used in a work for which another person / entity holds the rights.