Did I sign my rights away? Copyright for authors October 22, 2014 Musselman Library, Gettysburg College

copyright (1)copyright (1) by Maria Elena (CC BY 2.0)Maria ElenaCC BY 2.0

Large copyright sign made of jigsaw puzzle pieces Large copyright sign made of jigsaw puzzle pieces by Horia Varlan (CC BY 2.0)Horia VarlanCC BY 2.0

The right to reproduce the work The right to distribute the work The right to prepare derivative works The right to publicly perform the work The right to publicly display the work The right to license any of the above to third parties Scale clip artScale clip art by Scott Kirkwood (freeware)

Signing My Rights Away Signing My Rights Away Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Duke University J Ahern-Dodson. (2014, August 7). Signing my rights away [Web log]. Retrieved from “I stared at my name on the computer screen, listed in an index as a co-author for a chapter in a book that I don’t remember writing. How could I be published in a book and not know about it?” Jennifer Ahern-Dodson Director of Outreach and Thompson Writing Program Director of Language Arts and Media Program Retrieved from subpage=profile subpage=profile

Signing My Rights Away Signing My Rights Away Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Duke University J Ahern-Dodson. (2014, August 7). Signing my rights away [Web log]. Retrieved from “In my naïve, yet I suspect widely held view of academic authorship, I assumed the contract I had signed was simply a formality, more of a commitment by the journal to publish the article and an agreement by my co-author and me to do so. I only skimmed the contract, distracted perhaps by the satisfaction of getting published and the opportunity to circulate my ideas more broadly.”

more lessons on negotiating a contributor’s contract Sarah Werner, Folger Shakespeare Library S Werner (2013, October 21). More lessons on negotiating a contributor’s contract [Web log]. Retrieved from “So the start of Open Access Week seems like a good prompt to share with you my latest round of negotiating with a publisher for a better contributor’s contract. I’ve written about earlier versions of this exercise before, from the initial steps to its happy conclusion, but so far it’s not something that feels natural and I repeatedly hear from others that they don’t know how to go about this.”Open Access Weekthe initial stepsits happy conclusion

Sarah says: S Werner (2013, October 21). More lessons on negotiating a contributor’s contract [Web log]. Retrieved from Publishers have alternative agreements Don’t let editors be in charge of the contract Know what you want Negotiation is not conflict You can do it! Sarah Werner Digital Media Strategist Folger Shakespeare Library Retrieved from

Contracts Transfer License

What about coauthors?

SPARC (2006). SPARC author rights brochure. Retrieved from Key words: Author retains... Author may make and distribute copies in the course of teaching and research and may post the Article on personal or institutional Web sites and in other open-access digital repositories

“The Creative Commons copyright licenses and tools forge a balance inside the traditional ‘all rights reserved’ setting that copyright law creates.” Creative commons logoCreative commons logo by John Randell

Final thoughts If you don’t ask, you don’t get Think about what you need Read the agreement Consider addenda Work with your editor or publisher Negotiation doesn’t negate peer-review prestige Keener, M., Smith, K. & Emmett, K. (2012). Copyright basics: Because knowledge is power [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from

This work was created by Janelle Wertzberger for an Open Access Week presentation at Gettysburg College in October Some material adapted from Copyright Basics: Because Knowledge is Power (James Madison University June 2012) and Engagement: In & Around Campus (ACRL Scholarly Communications Roadshow May 2013).Copyright Basics: Because Knowledge is PowerEngagement: In & Around Campus It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International license: