Copyright is a form of protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works.
Open Access In terms of scholarly literature, open access applies to “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions”. What it means to academia and research is that the primary barrier to access, price, is removed from the equation, allowing free access to peer-reviewed, scholarly works, books, and just about any other electronic print material with the designation. More open access information and resources for all SUNY is available at the Digital Commons of SUNY site.
Investigate the copyright policy of a journal before choosing to publish in it.
Traditionally, journals require authors to transfer their copyright to the publisher.
How can you find gold OA journals? The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) contains information about 9000+ gold OA journals.
You may have more rights than you realize!
According to SHERPA/RoMEO:
Can I negotiate my copyright transfer contract?
Sometimes. Your best shot is the Scholar’s Copyright Addendum Engine. See also the CIC Addendum: Attach to traditional publisher agreement to retain the ability to keep a personal copy that can be posted to an institutional repository or personal website.
Advice to authors: Know your rights to what you write!
Research any journal you’re considering. (Quality? Peer reviewing process? Copyright policy?)
If you have the right to self-archive, exercise that right.
If you don’t have the right to self-archive, request it.
Choose the best publishing venue for you and your career…
…but also think about the system you’re contributing to and the one you want to contribute to.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.
Creative Commons free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.”
Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs.
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