ARAN - Access to Research at NUI Galway

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ARAN - Access to Research at NUI Galway

Copyright

About Copyright

Who owns copyright?

As the author, you will retain control over the integrity of your work deposited in ARAN and you will continue to enjoy the right to be acknowledged and cited.  

Copyright is potentially a significant obstacle that deters authors from coming forward to deposit their publications in the institutional repository for fear of violating the copyright agreements they have signed with their publishers.  Hopefully the following section will go some way toward lessening this worry.

Versions permitted by publisher copyright agreements

Deposit agreement & licencing

3 Ways to ensure hassle free deposit of future copyrighted works

Versions permitted by publisher copyright agreements

Repository staff will check the copyright agreements relating to all publications deposited before these are made publicly available. If copyright agreements do not permit deposit, publications will not be made available in the repository.

The majority of publishers will permit authors to deposit some form of their publications in repositories. Signing a Copyright Transfer Agreement does not necessarily mean that an author does not have the right to deposit a paper in a repository. However, authors should read carefully any copyright transfer agreements they are asked to sign. Some publishers may offer the option to sign a License to Publish rather than a Copyright Transfer Agreement. This may permit the author to retain rights not offered if the CTA is signed. If a publisher’s agreement does not refer to the right to deposit articles in repositories (which may also be referred to as ‘eprint servers’) it may be possible to amend the agreement to explicitly refer to this.

Note that most publishers only permit authors to deposit their author final version of publications and not the publisher pdf version.

In some cases, depending on the copyright agreement that has been signed with a publisher, and the publisher's policy on repositories it will not be possible to make the full text of publications available in the repository.

Authors may find the SHERPA-RoMEO list on ‘Publisher copyright policies & self-archiving’ useful in establishing what permissions are granted by publishers. The list can be searched by journal title. However, note that this list is not currently fully comprehensive. If in doubt it is best to contact your publisher directly and seek advice.

Repository Service staff can provide advice on copyright issues. For further advice contact aran@nuigalway.ie , tel. 00353 91 495961.

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Deposit agreement & licencing

Researchers submitting material to ARAN must do so under the terms of a deposit agreement and a user license (specimens below).  The deposit agreement outlines the responsibilities of the depositor and of the library, while the user license outlines conditions under which a user can use material deposited in ARAN.

The deposit agreement has been framed by the Technology Transfer Office and the Creative Commons Share-a-like end-user license has been approved by the Technology Transfer Office.

See:

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3 Ways to ensure hassle free deposit of future copyrighted works

1.  Copyright transfer agreements: examine publisher contracts and negotiate to be allowed self-archive/deposit in the institutional repository if possible.

2.  Retain your post-print (last working version after peer review) for deposit in ARAN:

Make a point of retaining and sending the last draft of your paper to the library for deposit when you go to publication.  We will observe any publisher stipulated time restrictions and will delay deposit the paper for a specified time period following publication if necessary.  By sending your final draft to the Library when you have finished working on it, you will save yourself the bother of returning to it at a later date when you have moved on to newer projects.

3. Your copy rights: approach copyright in a way that is more sympathetic to your own non-commercial interests and to your primary educational purpose of advancing knowledge:

  • When signing publisher agreements, ensure that you assign the rights to your work in a way that will allow for the broadest possible access.  You should at least seek to retain self-archiving rights and rights for personal educational use. 
  • Avoid granting an exclusive long-term license extending beyond first publication.

Benefits of retaining copyright to your work include:

 

Guaranteed freedom to use your own research material for teaching and other educational purposes
Some authors don't realise that assigning copyright can result in their inability to use their own publications for teaching/purposes, thus requiring them to seek permission before reproducing their own work for course packs or the library desk reserve collection.

Flexibility as publishing and scholarly communications channels evolve
Currently, scholarly journals have a monopoly on conferring the prestige necessary for academic advancement. However, the scholarly publication process is in transition and future options may well emerge that complement the journal's role. By limiting rights to the first publication you protect your ability to take advantage of such channels, without affecting the publisher’s monopoly on first publication.

Increased visibility
There is a mounting body of evidence that open access to research posted online is read and cited more than research that is accessible only through subscription-based sources. As research impact helps influence academic advancement decisions, it is in your best interests to make your work as accessible as possible.  Individual authors seeking publication may find it difficult to withhold rights when they are demanded by a prestigious journal.  Fortunately, the policies of a growing number of academic publishers, especially society publishers, reflect a genuine interest in accommodating author needs where those needs can be met without jeopardizing the publisher’s legitimate business interests.

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