Copyright law gives the creator of copyrighted works exclusive rights, including the rights to:

• Reproduce the work in copies (e.g., through photocopying)

• Distribute copies of the work

• Prepare transitional or other derivative works

• Perform or display the work publicly

• Authorize others to exercise any of these rights

 As an author, you may be most interested in retaining rights to:

• Reuse your work in teaching, future publications, and other scholarly and professional activities

• Deposit your work in a university institutional repositor

Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) has produced a legal instrument that you can use to modify your copyright transfer agreements with non-open-access journal publishers. Read more about your rights as an author in the SPARC brochure.

Author Rights and Open Access

• SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)

  Leading open access advocacy coalition. These PDFs from SPARC cover detailed information about Author's Rights and an Author's Addendum.

• Open Policy Finder

  An international database dedicated to providing publisher copyright and self-archiving policies.

• Creative Commons

  CC develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation.