Copyright Permissions to Upload Material
Be sure you have the rights to upload and disseminate in Prism; only the copyright owner can give permission for deposit. The person or entity holding the copyright for unpublished materials is often the author; for published materials most authors have transferred their copyright to journal or book publishers.
See information that may impact copyright owners:
Who is the copyright owner?
The person or entity holding the copyright for unpublished materials is often the author; for published materials most authors have transferred their copyright to journal or book publishers.
Journal Publishers. Use Sherpa/Romeo to check if the journal publisher allows for uploading to an institutional repository, and if so, which version of the article can be uploaded, the required visibility-level, if an embargo must be used, and the type of license (also known as rights statement) that must be applied.
Publisher Websites. Search the publisher's website for information regarding “licenses and copyright”, "author rights", "green archiving", "author reuse", "self-archiving" or "open access".
Consider using a custom Google search.
site:https://publisherswebsiteaddress.com/* “author rights”
Use site: to search a specific website in Google. Use the /* at the end of a specific URL to search more than the website’s homepage. Use a search term (use quotes for phrases) with a space after the URL to retrieve results for those terms in the website.
Contacting the Publisher. If relevant information cannot be found on the publisher's website, consider contacting the publisher for information.
Unpublished Materials.
Generally the author retains copyright of their unpublished materials. Unpublished materials have not been publicly distributed or distributed in a limited way. "Copyright in an unpublished work lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. If the author (or the author’s death date) is unknown or if the author is a corporate body, then the term is 120 years from the creation date for the work." (See Society of American Archivists for more information)
Rights Statements (also known as "Licenses") in Prism
All content uploaded to Prism should be made available with a rights statement, this is typically a Creative Commons (CC) license (or other license if appropriate); the license tells others how your content can be used. There are are several types of licenses to choose from, including six types of Creative Commons Licenses (for most content types), the MIT License (for software) and you also have an option to mark your item with the “All rights reserved” license.
See the Appendix: License Type to view licenses that are available in Prism.
If you do not choose a license, users of the repository may still be able to use your submission (including the metadata and associated files) under the protection of the Fair Use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. Learn more about Fair Use here: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/copyrightbasics/fairuse
How can I choose a license?
For more information regarding Creative Commons Licenses, please see:
Prism Deposit Agreement
When uploading content into Prism, you are asked to agree to the Prism Deposit Agreement, which grants Northwestern University a non-exclusive license to distribute the material. Copyright owners retain copyright over materials uploaded to Prism, and they can continue to distributed the material through other mechanisms.
Mediated Deposit. When depositing materials for an author (called a mediated deposit), you will agree to the Prism Deposit Agreement on their behalf. Be sure you have the rights to upload and disseminate item(s) in Prism. The person or entity holding the copyright for unpublished materials is often the author; for published materials most authors have transferred their copyright to journal or book publishers. Use Sherpa/Romeo to check if the journal publisher allows for uploading to an institutional repository, and if so, which version of the article can be uploaded or if an embargo must be used. In addition, the copyright owner(s) should choose which Creative Commons license is used (or other license, if appropriate), and determine the visibility of the article.
Multiple Authors. When completing a mediated deposit (see above) for items with multiple authors who are also the copyright owners, please provide all copyright owners with a link to the Prism Deposit Agreement and allow them to review and accept the agreement. All copyright owner(s) should agree on a Creative Commons license (or other license, if appropriate), and on the visibility of the article.
See Communication and Outreach for communication recommendations with author(s) for mediated deposits or ongoing permission to deposit.
Embargo Periods
Publishers holding copyright or funders with an interest in open access, may specify an embargo period before materials can be made openly available in an institutional repository. An embargo period is the time before an article can be freely available to the public. This period varies in length and can be set by the publisher or funder.
How do you know if a publisher or funder has required an embargo period?
Journal Publishers. Use Sherpa/Romeo to check if the journal publisher allows for uploading to an institutional repository, and if so, which version of the article can be uploaded, the required visibility-level, if an embargo must be used, and the type of license (also known as rights statement) that must be applied.
Publisher Websites. Search the publisher's website for information regarding “licenses and copyright”, "author rights", "green archiving", "author reuse", "self-archiving" or "open access". Elsevier has a Journal Embargo Finder for journals published by Elsevier.
Consider using a custom Google search.
site:https://publisherswebsiteaddress.com/* “author rights”
Use site: to search a specific website in Google. Use the /* at the end of a specific URL to search more than the website’s homepage. Use a search term (use quotes for phrases) with a space after the URL to retrieve results for those terms in the website.
Contacting the Publisher. If relevant information cannot be found on the publisher's website, consider contacting the publisher for information.
Funder embargos. The NIH Public Access Policy is federal law and specifies that the NIH-funded peer-reviewed manuscript be available to the public no later than 12 months after the official date of publication. In this case, the embargo period starts when the article is officially published and it ends up to 12 months later. When the embargo period is over, the public can read the NIH-funded manuscript for free, without a subscription, on PubMed Central.
Journal Article Versions
Journal publishers holding copyright often specify which version of an article, if any, can be uploaded to an institutional repository.
Preprint. A preprint is a draft of an article before peer-review. It typically looks like a term paper - a double spaced .doc file with minimal formatting.
Postprint. The final version of an academic article after it has been peer-reviewed and revised by the author. Also known as the final peer-reviewed version or accepted manuscript. It still looks like the double spaced .doc file and won't be formatted to look like the journal.
Pre vs. Post. Sometimes, the term "pre-print" is used interchangeably with "post-print," but when it comes to permissions issues, it is important to clarify which version of a manuscript is being discussed.
Publisher's Version/PDF. This is the version of record that is published on the publishers website. It will look nicely edited and will have been professionally typeset by the publisher.
Sources:
Understanding your rights: pre-prints, post-prints and publisher versions from Scientific American
Use Sherpa/Romeo to check if the journal publisher allows for uploading to an institutional repository, and if so, which version of the article can be uploaded, the required visibility-level, if an embargo must be used, and the type of license (also known as rights statement) that must be applied.
Typically, scholarly publishers allow researchers to upload the version of the article before it was published (also known as the pre-print) or the version of the article after it was submitted and peer-reviewed (also known as the post-print).
Consult Sherpa/Romeo to look up the journal title or publisher and see what they allow for deposits into institutional repositories. For questions please contact prism@northwestern.edu
Yes, copyright owners retain copyright over their materials.
When uploading content into Prism, you are asked to agree to the Prism Distribution Agreement, which grants Northwestern University a non-exclusive license to distribute the material. Copyright owners retain copyright over materials uploaded to Prism, and they can continue to distributed the material through other mechanisms. Please see the Prism Distribution Agreement for more information.
All material uploaded to Prism should be made available with a rights statement, this is typically a Creative Commons license (or other license, if appropriate); the license tells others how your material can be used. Consider using this resource to help you choose a license. See the Appendix: License Type to view licenses that are available in Prism.
Why should I choose a Rights Statement/License for items in Prism?
If you do not choose a license, users of the repository may still be able to use your submission (including the metadata and abstract) under the protection of the Fair Use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. Learn more about Fair Use here: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/copyrightbasics/fairuse
What are Creative Commons Licenses?
Creative Commons licenses tells others how your content can be used. Prism offers the full suite of Creative Commons License. Creative Common licenses are appropriate for all types of content you want to share publicly, except software and hardware. There are six different Creative Common licenses. Two of the licenses prohibit the sharing of adaptations (BY-ND, BY-NC-ND); three prohibit commercial uses (BY-NC, BY-NC-ND, BY-NC-SA), and two require adaptations be licensed under the same license (BY-SA, BY-NC-SA).
For more information regarding Creative Commons Licenses, please see:
How do I choose a Creative Commons (CC) License?
Copyright holders should choose their preferred creative commons license. The person or entity holding the copyright for unpublished materials is often the author; for published materials most authors have transferred their copyright to journal or book publishers. Use Sherpa/Romeo to check if the journal publisher allows for uploading to an institutional repository, and if so, which version of the article can be uploaded, the required visibility-level, if an embargo must be used, and the type of license (also known as rights statement) that must be applied.
CC Australia has developed a flowchart and CC United States has developed a website to help people decide which CC license is appropriate.
For more information regarding Creative Commons Licenses, please see:
What else should I know about Creative Commons (CC) Licenses?
Once you apply a Creative Commons license to your material, anyone who receives it may rely on that license for as long as the material is protected by copyright and similar rights, even if you later stop distributing it. Remember the license may not be revoked.
For more information regarding Creative Commons Licenses, please see:
How do I find out if there is an embargo period on my document from the publisher?
An embargo is a period of time that is set by a publisher before content becomes open access. During the embargo period the content is restricted to subscribers of the journal.
Many publishers have different embargo periods for different titles, so be sure to check the embargo period for each article you wish to deposit. You may deposit an embargoed item in Prism, using the Embargo feature under "Visibility". See more information in our guide on Edit Visibility of a Record.
I checked my copyright policy information on SherpaRomeo. Is there anything more I need to do?
While SherpaRomeo is a great resource, it may not completely cover the intricacies of all publishers' copyright policies. You can use SherpaRomeo as a starting point, but take the extra step of finding and reading the copyright policies on your publisher's website or by contacting them directly.
Is there guidance or best practice on permissions for photos uploaded to Prism?
We encourage you to get written permission from everyone in the photo. Once uploaded, you should indicate that permission was granted, by providing text in the Description field, such as: “posted with permission”. You should also keep the written permission.
I have published an article in a journal that does not allow me to upload any version of the article to an institutional repository. Should I write the publisher to ask if it can be allowed after the fact? What is the exact process for this?
If you have given the publisher exclusive rights to all versions of the article, they may indeed prohibit your posting it elsewhere. However, publishers do sometimes change their policies due to public demand, so it may be worthwhile to contact them and make a case for open access. We may be able to help you find the right people to contact about this issue.
How do you know if a conference allows a poster or paper to be uploaded to Prism? What if the proceedings are published elsewhere? Can we assume the poster’s copyright is retained by the author? What about if the abstract is published in a journal?
The poster’s copyright is retained by the author but you can contact the conference organizers to find out if you have the permission to post your poster or paper in an institutional repository.