Authors who publish articles in scholarly/peer-reviewed journals may be required to sign away copyright to their scholarly works, either in full or part, when signing the Copyright Transfer Agreement. With this transfer, authors lose the rights to reproduce, distribute or copy their own works without permissions from publishers. The publishers, in turn, sell licenses to these works back to authors' institutions/libraries for exorbitant prices.
By retaining control of copyright, authors would take control of their scholary works. Signing copyright agreements with publishers does not have to be an all or nothing deal.
To retain control, authors can negotiate copyright terms, such as:
Retaining copyright but licensing first publication rights
Transferring copyright but keeping specific rights
If negotiation fails, authors can:
Publish with journals whose publishers are willing to negotiate
Choose open access journals. Check out our transformative agreements to discover journals we have discounted or free open access article processing charges.
Review your publication agreement carefully before signing to determine what rights you are transferring. You can modify the publication agreement by using an addendum to state the rights you are requesting. The publisher may accept your changes, offer you a new contract, or reject your changes. Based on their response, you will need to decide how to proceed.
Free author resources to negotiate contract terms with publishers:
Creative Commons allows you to specify permissions for the public to use your work. Use the Creative Commons License Chooser tool to select the appropriate license for your needs.
This engine helps author generate a PDF form to attach to a journal publisher's copyright agreement to ensure you retain certain rights
The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) developed an attachment for publication agreements that you can adapt to retain the rights as needed.
Author Alliance's free guide to help authors understand and negotiate their book publication contracts.
Authors Alliance’s guide provides authors with the information and strategies they need to revive their books.
The Open Access Directory's list of examples of author addenda crafted by various institutions.
The Author Alliance develops resources to help authors understand copyright, defamation and personality rights, fair use, AI, publication contracts, rights reversion, and termination of transfer.
A Negotiating Guide developed by the Arizona State University Libraries
Site designed to help creators retain their copyrights and license their rights on author-friendly terms.
Scholarly Communication Toolkit developed by the Association of College and Research Libraries to support advocacy efforts designed to transform the scholarly communication landscape.
Guide help authors understand and maintain their rights throughout the scholarly publication process.