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Copyright, Author's Rights, and Generative AI

Why Negotiate your Publication Agreement?

Many publishers will ask for a full transfer of copyright as part of a publication agreement for a journal, book chapter, book, or other scholarly work. However, a complete transfer of rights may hinder the author's future use of their own work, even in their teaching and research.

Publishing contracts may prevent an author from posting a manuscript or published work on their own website or an institutional repository, including sections of their own published works in future scholarly works, or making other non-commercial use of their own scholarship.

However, there are options: transferring copyright is not necessarily all-or-nothing! A publication agreement may be negotiated or amended, or an author may request to include an addendum to retain certain rights.

See: Elliott Hibbler (2024): Copyright and Scholarship: Author Rights.

How to Approach Negotiation

  1. Ask early (and often!). Expect to need to request changes, and be prepared to go back and forth multiple times.
  2. Ask politely via email or phone to your publisher representative, and be clear in explaining what you want out of the negotiation.
  3. Strike through terms you wish to change, and write in your changes; OR add an author addendum. You may print and mark up an existing agreement or track changes using software such as Word, Adobe, or Google Docs. Many organizations such as SPARC offer model addendums for authors to adapt and use.
  4. Make it easy for the publisher to say yes. Cultivate good relationships with your representatives and publisher; make practical arguments as to why your proposals are mutually beneficial; point to other publishers who have accepted your terms.
  5. Pick your battles & have alternatives in mind. If, ultimately, the publisher declines to modify the publication agreement, what are your next steps? If this is a minor comment or book review, is it worth going ahead with the agreement anyway? If this is an important work, what (or who) is your next best option?

See: Jennifer Schaefer (2024): Negotiating Author-Friendly Publication Agreements — Negotiating with Publishers.

More Resources on Negotiating Publication Agreements