1. A Guide to Acceptable Copyright Transfer/Author Disclosure Forms

2. 2 Copyright Transfer/Author Disclosure Forms o Copyright Transfer/Author Disclosure Forms (CTAs) must meet the following criteria: Each author must complete an individual form Each author must return all pages of the form Each form must contain an acceptable signature o Acceptable Signatures can be: A handwritten signature A valid digital signature that contains the author’s name A valid digital signature that contains the author’s email address Email address should match the email listed on page 1 of the form o Additional Notes: If an author signs the form with a digital signature, the original signed PDF must be submitted in an individual file. We cannot accept scanned forms with digital signatures or multiple forms that have been signed digitally and combined into a single file If all authors have completed and signed their forms by hand, only then can we accept all forms combined in a single file

3. ACCEPTABLE SIGNATURES

4. 4 Acceptable Digital Signatures An acceptable digital signature will display the “Digitally signed by” information to the right of the person’s name, as highlighted in the red box below:

5. 5 Acceptable Digital Signatures If you are ever unsure about a digital signature, you should be able to click anywhere in the signature field to bring up the “Signature Validation Status” Box: If the “Signature Validation Status” Box appears, the signature should be acceptable If you click on the signature and nothing happens (the status box does not appear), then the signature may not be an acceptable digital signature

6. 6 Acceptable Digital Signatures If the Signature Status notes that the Signature Validity is Unknown or Invalid, this is okay. Most signature will appear as unknown or invalid because authors will not be part of your list of trusted identities in Adobe

7. 7 Acceptable Digital Signatures If you have any remaining concerns about a digital signature, click on the “Signature Properties” button to bring up the Signature Properties box, and then click on “Show Signer’s Certificate” to review additional information about the signature.

8. 8 Acceptable Digital Signatures Signer’s Certificate Viewer If the digital signature was created correctly, the Signature Properties box should confirm the person’s name, email address, and the date and time it was signed. When done reviewing the information, you can click “OK” and close the Signature Properties Box.

9. 9 Acceptable Handwritten Signatures Any form that has been signed by hand is acceptable : For forms signed by hand, also note the following: Forms signed by hand will usually be scanned and uploaded to the submission Forms that have been scanned are acceptable only when the author’s signature is a hand- written signature.

10. UNACCEPTABLE SIGNATURES

11. 11 Unacceptable Signatures Any form that was digitally signed, but appears to be scanned or copied cannot be accepted. It is usually easy to spot a scanned black and white form, but some forms scanned in color could be harder to identify. If you are unsure if the form has been copied or scanned, click on the signature. If clicking on the signature does not bring up the Signature Status box, the signature is not a true digital signature

12. 12 Unacceptable Signatures Any form where it appears the author has typed or pasted his or her name into the form is not acceptable. If a name has been typed or pasted into the form, the “Digitally Signed by Information” will be missing, and the Signature Validation Status box will not appear if you click in the signature field.. In addition, if you can click on a name and move or delete it, the signature is not a true digital signature. Signature Information is Missing

13. 13 Unacceptable Signatures We sometimes receive forms where the signature appears to be a coded signature created by an Apple device. We cannot accept these signatures, as they do not contain any part of the author’s name, even if the “Digitally Signed by” information appears on the form.