Clear rights, transparent licences and responsible reuse

Copyright and Publishing Principles

AvenSci Publishing recognises the importance of protecting intellectual property while supporting the responsible dissemination of scientific knowledge. Clear copyright and licensing arrangements help authors, Book Editors, institutions and readers understand the rights associated with each scholarly publication.

The rights applicable to a work depend on its authorship, the selected publishing model, any pre-existing obligations and the relevant publication agreement. Open Access and commercial publications may therefore be governed by different licensing and distribution conditions.

This policy provides general guidance and does not replace the terms of an individual publishing agreement or applicable copyright law.

Copyright Ownership and Author Rights

Copyright ownership is determined by applicable law and the circumstances in which a work was created. The rights retained by authors and those granted to AvenSci are specified in the relevant publishing agreement.

Depending on the agreed publishing model, AvenSci may receive a licence to publish and distribute the work or other expressly defined publishing rights. Any assignment of rights, exclusivity, territorial scope, duration or permitted modes of exploitation must be established through the appropriate contractual arrangements.

Authors should disclose employment-related, institutional, collaborative or previously agreed obligations that may affect their authority to grant publishing rights.

Authors' moral rights and other rights protected under applicable law remain subject to the relevant legal framework and cannot be presumed to have been waived merely through publication.

Publishing Agreements and Licences

The publishing agreement establishes the rights and obligations of the parties and defines the permitted uses of the scholarly work.

Depending on the publication, these arrangements may address electronic and print distribution, commercial sales, Open Access dissemination, translation, adaptations, licensing to third parties and the use of material for promotion or discovery.

Agreements should identify the work and the rights granted with sufficient precision, including any relevant limitations, duration, territory and financial conditions.

Authors and Book Editors should review the proposed terms carefully and raise questions concerning copyright ownership, permissions, licensing or earlier commitments before entering into a binding agreement.

Open Access and Creative Commons Licences

Open Access publications are made available to readers without an individual purchase barrier under the licence and access conditions specified for the relevant work.

AvenSci may consider appropriate Creative Commons licences or other suitable open licensing arrangements, subject to the publishing agreement, the rights available and any applicable funder or institutional requirements.

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY), for example, generally permits redistribution and adaptation, including commercial reuse, provided that the applicable attribution and other licence requirements are satisfied. Other Creative Commons licences may impose additional restrictions on commercial reuse or the distribution of adapted material.

The precise licence version and conditions must be identified for the published work. Readers should consult the applicable licence notice rather than assuming that all Open Access publications permit identical forms of reuse.

Third-party material included in an Open Access publication may be excluded from its general licence and may carry separate rights statements.

Commercial Publications and Reader Rights

Commercially distributed books, electronic publications and individual chapters are made available under the access and use conditions applicable to the particular product or transaction.

Purchasing a digital book or chapter does not, by itself, transfer copyright ownership or grant unrestricted rights to reproduce, redistribute, upload, resell or commercially exploit the content.

Readers may use purchased material within the permissions granted by the applicable terms and the exceptions or limitations provided by law.

Permissions for institutional distribution, course packs, translations, adaptations or other uses extending beyond the applicable terms may require separate authorisation from the relevant rights holder.

The availability of individual chapter purchases does not alter the copyright ownership of the underlying contributions.

Edited Volumes and Chapter Copyright

Edited scholarly volumes may involve several distinct categories of intellectual property rights, including rights in individual chapters, editorial contributions, illustrations and the compilation or arrangement of the complete work.

Book Editors provide scholarly leadership and coordination, while individual chapter authors remain responsible for their own contributions and the rights they are authorised to grant.

Copyright ownership and publishing permissions for chapters must be addressed in the relevant agreements. The appointment of a Book Editor does not automatically confer ownership of the copyright in every chapter.

Where commercial and Open Access chapters coexist within the same volume, the access status, applicable licence and rights information of each contribution should be clearly identified.

Any arrangements concerning reuse, republication or distribution of individual chapters must remain consistent with the contractual rights granted to AvenSci and other relevant parties.

Theses and Dissertations

Doctoral theses, research dissertations and thesis-derived scholarly publications may be subject to existing university policies, repository deposits, embargoes, third-party permissions or previous publishing commitments.

Authors proposing a thesis for publication must disclose relevant institutional requirements and confirm that they possess or can obtain the rights required for the intended publication.

The existence of a publicly accessible thesis does not automatically prevent consideration for publication. However, prior availability, originality, substantial revision, overlapping publications and any applicable restrictions must be assessed.

Where a thesis is adapted into a scholarly book, the publishing agreement should define the rights relating to the revised publication and any necessary permissions for material drawn from the original work.

Commercial and Open Access thesis publications may involve different licensing, distribution and financial arrangements, as specified in the relevant agreement.

Conference Publications

Conference proceedings, abstract books, collections of full papers and other scholarly meeting publications may contain contributions from multiple authors and institutions.

Conference organisers, scientific committees and contributing authors should establish clear responsibilities for obtaining publication permissions and confirming the rights necessary to distribute the selected material.

Acceptance of a contribution for presentation at a conference does not automatically establish unrestricted permission for subsequent commercial publication or Open Access licensing.

Where an organiser acts on behalf of contributors, the scope of that authority and the permissions obtained should be documented appropriately.

Copyright notices, contributor attribution and any separate licensing arrangements should be identified in the published proceedings or abstract collection where relevant.

Third-Party Material and Permissions

Authors are responsible for identifying material owned or controlled by third parties and obtaining the permissions required for its intended inclusion and distribution, unless a valid licence or statutory exception permits the proposed use.

Such material may include figures, tables, photographs, maps, diagrams, extended quotations, illustrations, software outputs and other protected works.

Permission to reproduce content in one format or publishing model does not necessarily authorise its use in another. In particular, permission for inclusion in a commercially distributed work may not permit release under a Creative Commons licence.

Authors should supply accurate source acknowledgements, licence details, permission records and any prescribed credit lines before publication.

AvenSci may request clarification, replacement or removal of material where the necessary rights cannot be established.

Author Warranties and Responsibilities

Authors must have the legal authority to submit their work and enter into the publishing arrangements proposed for it.

They are responsible for disclosing relevant prior publication, co-authorship arrangements, existing licences, contractual obligations and third-party rights that may affect publication.

Contributors should ensure that copyright information, acknowledgements and permissions are accurate and that the manuscript does not knowingly infringe the rights of others.

Any specific contractual warranties, representations, responsibilities or remedies are governed by the applicable agreement and relevant law.

Where an authorship or ownership dispute arises, publication may require additional clarification or documentation before proceeding.

Permissions, Reuse and Republication

Readers, researchers and other interested parties should consult the rights and licensing information associated with a publication before reproducing, translating, adapting or redistributing its content.

Uses permitted by an applicable open licence or statutory exception do not ordinarily require separate permission, provided that the relevant conditions are satisfied.

Other uses may require authorisation from the appropriate rights holder. AvenSci can consider requests concerning rights it administers but cannot grant permissions for material outside its legal authority.

Authors seeking to reuse or republish their own contributions should consider the permissions retained under their publishing agreement, the proposed form of reuse and any obligations concerning attribution or previous publication.

Requests should identify the material concerned, the intended use, the proposed distribution format and the relevant publication details.

Rights Information and Enquiries

AvenSci aims to provide clear information about the copyright status, access arrangements and applicable licences of its scholarly publications.

Relevant information may appear in the publication itself, on the associated publication page, in chapter-level metadata or in the corresponding publishing agreement.

Where a work contains material subject to separate licensing restrictions, those restrictions should be identified through appropriate notices or acknowledgements.

Authors, Book Editors, conference organisers and readers may contact AvenSci through its official communication channels for clarification concerning publication rights, licensing conditions or permission requests.

Rights enquiries will be considered in light of the applicable agreements and law. This policy provides general information and does not independently grant rights beyond those expressly established by a relevant licence, contract or legal exception.