Open Access and your publishing contract

If possible, favor open access journals for your publication.

When publishing in traditional journals, make sure to retain the non-exclusive right in the publishing agreement in order to make your article publicly accessible. If the publisher insists on an embargo period for the your own basic non-exclusive usage rights you wish to retain, you should agree on a period not longer than 2 to12 months starting from the publication date of your article.

We recommend to add a corresponding section to author contracts with traditional publishers.

Delete the word "exclusive" or similar wording in the publishing contract and add the following text:

 

The author shall have the right to make the work publicly accessible free of charge, in PDF format, on the Internet—via their personal homepage, an institutional server, or an appropriate subject-specific repository—concurrently with its publication in print.

or alternatively:

"I hereby declare that I do not wish to assign the exclusive copyright to (name of publisher) but reserve the right to publish the article in full on an open access platform". Date, signature

 

You may as well check: Science Commons provides the Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine to automatically generate a contract addendum.

You can assure the publisher that the secondary publication on the document server will include the full citation details of the primary publication, along with a direct link to the publisher.

Most publishers accept such a secondary publication. They usually favour other distribution channels targeting a different customer base. However, a key argument in negotiations with the publisher is that the availability of an online version also serves as effective promotion for the print edition—provided the print version is reasonably priced.

If the publisher rejects the supplement, secondary publication is typically still possible—provided it complies with the terms of the respective contract.

Most publishers have established guidelines outlining whether and how authors may make their works available online as secondary publications, including any required embargo period.

The SHERPA project offers guidance on the policies of individual publishers and journals through the Open Policy Finder. But notice:The entries in the list serve as proposals, they are not legally binding. The decisive factor is the individual contract between the author and the publisher.

Regulations for electronic secondary publication distinguish between preprints (versions submitted before peer review) and postprints (versions after peer review). The term 'postprint' often refers to the so-called “final draft”, known as the publisher’s galley proof.

According to § 38(1) of the Copyright Act (UrhG), in its current version, authors may reproduce and distribute their work elsewhere one year after its initial publication—unless otherwise agreed in the publishing contract.