Manage Your Intellectual Property

Managing your intellectual effort through the transferal and retention of copyrights is a key to reshaping scholarly communication to balance your interests and the academy’s interests with the interests of publishers. The transfer of copyrights can bestow tremendous economic advantage to publishers. By managing the rights you retain and those you transfer, you can maximize the dissemination, use, and impact of your work.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) concurs: "...scientists, as authors, should strive to use the leverage of their ownership of the bundle of copyright rights, whether or not they transfer copyright, to secure licensing terms that promote as much as possible ready access to and use of their published work."

• See the AAAS report about scientists' authorship rights in the digital age.
• Understand copyright, starting with these seven points.

Retain certain copyrights:

• Reserve some rights in your publication contract.
• Transfer only limited rights to the publisher.
• Submit work to publishers with enlightened copyright policies.

Adopt fair copyright policies:

• Editors: influence your journal’s policies.
• Society members: influence your society’s policies.
• Authors: submit only to publishers with enlightened copyright policies.

Maximize the reach and impact of your work:

• Publish your work where access is maximized.
• Grant non-exclusive rights to others to use your work.