ZU Scholars

Who owns copyright?

When you write a manuscript, you generally own the copyright. But once your manuscript is accepted for publication, you usually transfer some or all of your rights to the publisher by signing a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA). This agreement and the publisher's open access policy determines which document version (if any) can be deposited to a repository.

Checking the publisher's policies

Before making full text works available in ZU Scholars, the publisher's open access policy needs to be checked. Journals and publishers have various policies which can usually be checked in the Sherpa/Romeo database. The Library will do this on your behalf once you have uploaded the full text file. If you have any questions regarding the publisher's OA policy or document versions, please contact the library at scholars@zu.ac.ae.

Which document version can I upload?

Many publishers allow the Accepted Author Manuscript to be saved into the institutional repository. A typical publishing process and different document versions are described below.

Image source: Manuscript detectives – submitted, accepted or published? (University of Cambridge)

• Preprint (also known as submitted version): This version has not been peer reviewed or published in a journal. Can usually be deposited to a repository if no other version is available but some publishers have strict policies regarding preprints. Sometimes preprints need to be removed from the repository when the final version is published
• Accepted Author Manuscript (also known as AAM, author's final version, post print or final draft): This version has been peer-reviewed but the layout has not yet been decided by the publisher. This is the final version that the author submits to the publisher. Can usually be deposited to a repository but sometimes there's an embargo period of 6 to 24 months or more
• Publisher’s version (also known as Version of Record): This is the final published version of the article, containing the publisher’s layout, page numbers etc. Depositing the publisher’s version to a repository is usually not permitted by the publisher unless it's a Creative Commons licensed article

Examples of Document Versions

• Publisher's version - has the publisher's logo, layout, page numbers etc.
• Publisher's version with a CC license - has the publisher's elements and a CC license statement
• Accepted Author Manuscript - doesn't have the publisher's logo, layout or page numbers. Peer-reviewed and corrected version without comments

Sources and More Information:

• Manuscript detectives – submitted, accepted or published? (University of Cambridge)
• How to protect your work from being taken down: Pre-prints, post-prints, and publisher's PDF explained (Open Access Button)

Submitting unpublished works

• Unpublished works can be submitted to ZU Scholars. However, please note that some publishers have strict restrictions regarding unpublished works or preprints. If you’re planning to publish the same work later elsewhere, please contact the library (scholars@zu.ac.ae) or the publisher directly and ask for clarification on their publishing policies before submitting your work
• Previously unpublished works can be published under a Creative Commons license which permits the re-use and redistribution of the work. Creative Commons licenses are highly recommended for unpublished works. See below for more information on CC licenses
• You retain the right to publish your work or parts of it with the same or modified content elsewhere

Creative Commons licenses

Creative Commons (CC) licenses can be used to give others the right to share, use, and build upon a work that you have created. CC licenses provide flexibility and also protect the people who use or redistribute your work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license. Using CC licenses is highly recommended (when applicable).

There are different CC licenses, each with different terms. You can use the CC License Chooser to check which license would work best for you.