A Primer on Open Access Publishing: Copyrights and the “Gold Rule”. Part Two by Jason Colditz

“For an introduction to Open Access publishing and what it is, you can read Part One of the series here. This post will briefly discuss author copyright agreements and provide resources to help you publish your research directly into the public domain (“Open Access Gold” model). This is the most straightforward way to bring your research into the public domain – sharing your final publication with the largest possible audience. This model allows for public access and allows researchers/authors/media to freely cite and report on the final version of your work. If you want to build your public presence in your field and broader scientific/professional networks, the public availability of your research should not be taken for granted... When you think about impact, it is important to consider the ‘prestige’ of the journal as well as the availability of the final publication. The publisher may ask you to sign-away certain rights of your intellectual property that will limit the availability/usability of your work, and you need to consider what you are giving up in order to get your paper to press (i.e., is it still legally ‘your’ paper after it is published? – often times not). Publishers require you to sign a legal agreement that determines how your article can be used and shared. Some publishers (e.g., Elsevier) have complex restrictions on how your article may be shared, while others (e.g., Public Library of Science) pride themselves on openness and accessibility of research articles. To understand the complexities of copyright transfer agreements, you don’t need to be a lawyer – the basic principle is that you (authors) may do whatever you wish with a manuscript until you agree to trade certain freedoms for the privilege of publication. Simply put, some publishers require you to give-up more freedom than others… If you want a broad reach for your research, there are several things to pay attention to when choosing a journal/publisher: [1] Who owns the copyright to your published work (you or the publisher)? [2] How soon (if ever) will the article be made freely available to the public? [3] Are you permitted to post the publication on personal- or institutional websites? [4] Can the publication be freely reproduced for educational purposes? . For some publishers, the answers to these questions are: ‘Not you – never – absolutely not – no...’ If you want to know more about the copyright agreements for particular journals or publishers, the University of Nottingham hosts the ‘SHERPA/RoMEO’ website to help you decode and compare copyright agreements for most popular publishers...”