Overview

US Copyright law gives the author of an original work, such as a scholarly article, the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, publicly perform, and publicly display the copyrighted work. Copyright protection is now automatic. The author obtains these exclusive rights at the moment the copyrighted work has been “fixed in a tangible medium,” such as when a written work has been saved on a computer's hard drive or printed.

The author retains these exclusive rights up until the moment the author signs a written agreement to transfer some or all of these exclusive rights. (By contrast, an author may give others non-exclusive permission to use the copyrighted work in a variety of ways, including through verbal agreement.) A transfer of any exclusive right is truly exclusive—once transferred, the author may no longer exercise that right. If the author intends to retain the right to make any further uses of the copyrighted work, or intends to grant others permission to make any use of the copyrighted work, the author must make this clear in a written transfer agreement.

Strategies for Encouraging Authors to Retain Their Rights

• Hold conversations with faculty members about the importance of retaining their copyright
• Create Web sites with information on copyright retention
• Develop institutional versions of copyright publisher addendum
• Offer consultation services to faculty who have copyright questions

Author Rights Web Sites

• Arizona State University, How to Retain Ownership of Your Copyright When Dealing with Publishers
• University of California, Berkeley, Manage Your Rights
• University of California, Irvine, Author's Rights and Copyright
• Cornell University, Copyright Management
• Georgia Tech, Copyright
• University of Illinois at Chicago, Control Your Intellectual Property
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Copyright and Intellectual Property
• MIT, Retaining Rights & Increasing the Impact of Your Research
• University of Minnesota, Managing Your Rights as an Author
• Ohio State University, Retaining Your Copyright
• University of Pennsylvania, Keep What Belongs to You
• University of Tennessee, Faculty as Rights Holders
• Washington University in St. Louis, Becker Medical Library, Copyright for Authors
• University of Wisconsin, Control Your Copyright

Library Statements in Support of Author Rights

• University of California Office of Scholarly Communication, Manage Your Intellectual Property
• Boston Library Consortium Inc., Agreement to Extend Author’s Rights
• OhioLINK Library Community Recommendations on Retention of Intellectual Property Rights For Works Produced by Ohio Faculty and Students [PDF]

Campus Statements in Support of Retention of Author Rights

• University of California Academic Council’s Special Committee on Scholarly Communication, The Case of Scholars’ Management of Their Copyright [PDF]

• Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), Provosts’ Statement on Publishing Agreements

CIC Endorsements:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Minnesota

University of Wisconsin Faculty Senate, Resolution in Support of Assisting University Faculty in Managing Their Publishing Rights and Agreements, May 7, 2007 [PDF]

Library Services in Support of Author Rights

• Ohio State University, Copyright Help Center

Author Addenda Examples

In consultation with legal counsel, campus libraries have modified or prepared addenda to publishing agreements for use by their campus community.

• Boston College Libraries, Suggested Addendum to Publishing Contracts
• Dartmouth College, Authors' Amendment to Publication Agreement [PDF]
• University of Kansas, Author's Addendum to Publication Agreement [PDF]
• MIT Libraries, Copyright Amendment Form (Amendment to Publication Agreement)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Health Sciences Library, UNC Journal Author's Agreement
• Washington University in St. Louis, Suggested Addendum to Publishing Contract
• Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, Amendment to Publication Agreement [PDF]

For a review and analysis of current author addenda, see Peter B. Hirtle, "Author Addenda: An Examination of Five Alternatives," D-Lib Magazine 12, no. 11 (Nov. 2006).

Other Resources

• ACRL/ARL/SPARC Video: Author's Rights

  This two-minute video is intended to help librarians effectively engage disciplinary faculty and researchers on the topic of author rights. The video presentation explains in simple, graphic terms the potential for wider exposure of scholarly articles when authors retain key rights.

• ACRL/ARL/SPARC Webcast: Understanding Author Rights

  This one-hour webcast was designed to help librarians better engage disciplinary faculty and researchers on the topic of author rights. Learn the basic issues and understand outreach strategies.

• Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Author Resources

• SPARC Author Rights

  Addendum to Publication Agreement [PDF]

• Creative Commons

• Science Commons Scholar’s Copyright Project

  Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine

• Know Your Copy Rights^®

• ACRL Scholarly Communication Toolkit

• JISC/SURF Licence to Publish