Could Be Worse Clauses for Academic Authors

Clauses for Academic Authors

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If the [publisher] is approached by another publisher (the "[other] Publisher") seeking permission to publish the Article in any form other than those authorized by Paragraphs 5 [in an on-line database] and 6 [as a reprint or part of the journal] above, the [publisher] shall have the non-exclusive right to grant such permission to the [other] Publisher, provided that such permission shall require the [other] Publisher to print the [notice] required by paragraph 8 below.

Clause Type:

For:

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This means that the publisher can, without consulting the author, allow another publisher to publish the article in any format as long as the second publisher prints the correct notice indicating that the article was originally published in the journal.

You grant to the [publisher] the exclusive right to publish the Article for a period of one year from the date when the Issue is first mailed to subscribers. During this period, you shall not publish the Article, or any portion thereof, in any other law review, scholarly publication, or otherwise, nor shall you authorize any other party to do so, without the written consent of the [publisher].

Clause Type:

For:

link to this example

This is a contract for publication of an article in a scholarly journal (law review). It grants the publisher the exclusive right to publish the work for one year from the date the issue containing the work is first mailed to subscribers. During that year, the author cannot publish the piece anywhere -- including, it seems, on her own website or on a scholarly pre-print server -- without the consent of the publisher. But after one year, all rights revert to the author.

The right to publish the work in [journal] in print and electronic formats, and all related rights necessary or desirable for the full use and enjoyment of such right of Publication, including but not limited to the right to republish the work in whole or in part in future issues of [journal], in collections of works from the [journal] or in anthologies.

The right to publish, in print or electronic format, short selections from the Article for publicity and scholarly purposes, as deemed appropriate by [publisher], without payment to the Author(s).

This is a contract for publication of an article in a scholarly journal. It gives the publisher the right to publish the work in any print or electronic format. It also allows the publisher to publish only parts of the article in collective works (such as anthologies) or to release parts of the work for scholarly or publicity purposes. The author is not compensated for any of these uses. It is not clear from the language whether the author is granting exclusive or non exclusive rights; nor is it clear whether the contract covers digital or other new media.

Upon publication of the Article, [journal] grant to you, the Author(s), without charge, the right to republish the Article in revised or unrevised form, in any language, in any volume consisting entirely of your own work, or in any work that you edit, provided that the [journal] is notified of such use, and it carries the proper copyright notice and acknowledgment of its original publication in by [journal].

Clause Type:

For:

link to this example

This

This is a contract for publication in a scholarly journal. In an earlier clause, the author assigned her copyright; in this clause the publisher grants back to the author the right to republish the article in a book of her work or in a work that she edits; the author must notify the publisher of the reuse of the article, and credit the first publication in the journal. The grant-back allows the author considerable freedom to recycle her work, but it does not appear to extend to permitting the author to post her work on a collective website (which would consist of many authors' work, and would not be edited by the contracting author).

This assignment is subject to reservation by the authors of the following rights:

a. The author(s) reserves all proprietary rights, other than copyright, such as patent rights.

b. The author(s) reserves the right after publication of the WORK by [publisher], to use all or part of the WORK in compilations or other publications of the author's own works, to use figures and tables created by them and contained in the WORK, and to make copies of all or part of the WORK for the author's use for lectures, classroom instruction, or similar uses.

c. The author(s) reserves the right to post and update the WORK on e-print servers provided that [files types specific to the journal] are not used and that a link to the WORK in [journal's online service] is included.

d. The author(s) reserves the right to post the WORK (in PDF) on the author's web page provided that a link to the article in [journal's online service] is included.

e. The author(s) reserves the right to deposit his or her final manuscript in [an online repository] on acceptance for publication by [journal] and to request public access immediately upon publication by [journal] if the author(s) has paid the [journal's] open access fee.

Clause Type:

For:

  • Writers
  • Academic Authors

link to this example

This is a grant-back clause from a contract for publication of an article in a scientific journal. This kind of clause appears, generally, after a clause in which the publisher acquires all the rights (or very nearly all rights) to a work. It means that the author - having signed away his copyright in the work - "gets back" some rights to the work. Here, for instance, the author may:

(a) retain any proprietary rights in the work except for copyright. This is particularly used in the context of scientific journals where the article may contain patentable information. (b) use the work in compilations or books that the author creates, use the data in the article for other purposes (again, a right mostly pertinent to scientific articles) or copy the work for educational purposes.

(c) update the work and post this revision on-line(with certain restrictions as to file types used and provided there is a link to the journal's online site).

(d) post the work on his webpage as long as their is a link to the journal's online site.

(e) to deposit the final manuscript in a journal-affiliated online repository and have access to it (for a fee). Grant-back clauses take some of the sting out of total assignments, but leave the author on the short end of the stick in the event of uncertainty: because the author gave everything up, any ambiguity will concern what the author gets back, and to the extent there is a doubt, the publisher's rights prevail.

Pursuant to this Agreement, Contractor grants The [publisher] in our circulation area first publication rights to the Material, and grants The [publisher] an irrevocable, paid up, worldwide, transferable, license in perpetuity to copy, distribute, display, publicly perform, and create derivative works of the Material, including a license to redistribute, reproduce, republish, and to authorize republication, reproduction and syndication of all or part of the Material in print, in any microform media, in any database, or in any other media (computer, electronic, optical, video, CD-ROM, or otherwise) or form, now known or hereafter invented. This license shall be exclusive for ninety (90) days from the date of first publication of the Material by The [publisher]; thereafter this license shall be non-exclusive, unless mutually agreed otherwise in writing.

This is a contract for a nationally-known newspaper. This clause gives the publisher the right to publish the work in any format, anywhere in the world, forever - including the right to edit the work and create derivative works. It also entitles the publisher to give any and all of those rights to anyone else. For 90 days following first publication, the publisher enjoys these rights exclusively. After 90 days, the rights become non exclusive, which means that the author can exercise the same rights, too. Both the author and the publisher can exploit the work without getting the other's approval (or paying for it).