Copyright and Publishing Rights

Copyright and publishing rights for an international multidisciplinary journal of science, technology, and business are typically governed by the following principles:

  • The copyright to any article published in the journal belongs to the author(s) of the article.
  • The author(s) grant to the journal publisher the exclusive right to publish the article in the journal and to reproduce it in any form or medium.
  • The journal publisher typically retains the copyright to the journal itself, including the title, masthead, and other editorial content.

In addition to these general principles, there are a number of specific copyright and publishing rights issues that may be relevant to an international multidisciplinary journal of science, technology, and business. For example:

  • Authorship and co-authorship: The journal should have clear policies on authorship and co-authorship, including who qualifies as an author and how authorship credits should be assigned.
  • Copyright transfer agreements: The journal may require authors to sign a copyright transfer agreement before their article is published. This agreement should clearly specify the rights that the author is transferring to the journal publisher.
  • Permissions: The journal may require authors to obtain permission from copyright holders before reproducing any copyrighted material in their article.
  • Open access: The journal may be an open access journal, which means that all articles published in the journal are freely available to read and download. If the journal is open access, the journal publisher will typically retain the copyright to the articles published in the journal, but will grant a license to readers to access and use the articles for certain non-commercial purposes.

Authors who are submitting articles to an international multidisciplinary journal of science, technology, and business should carefully review the journal's copyright and publishing rights policies. These policies will typically be available on the journal's website.

Here are some specific examples of copyright and publishing rights issues that may be relevant to an international multidisciplinary journal of science, technology, and business:

  • Publishing in multiple languages: If the journal publishes articles in multiple languages, the journal publisher will need to obtain permission from the author(s) to translate and publish the article in each language.
  • Publishing in different countries: If the journal is published in multiple countries, the journal publisher will need to comply with the copyright laws of each country.
  • Publishing in electronic and print formats: If the journal is published in both electronic and print formats, the journal publisher will need to obtain permission from the author(s) to publish the article in both formats.

Authors and journal publishers should also be aware of the following international copyright treaties and conventions:

  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: This treaty provides for the automatic copyright protection of works in member countries.
  • Universal Copyright Convention: This convention provides for the copyright protection of works published in member countries.
  • Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS): This agreement is part of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement and sets minimum standards for intellectual property protection, including copyright protection.

Authors and journal publishers should consult with an attorney if they have any questions about copyright and publishing rights.