Research Guides: Scholarly Publishing Guide: Negotiating Publishing Contracts

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Subjects: OER: Open (or Free) Educational Materials, Scholarly Communication

Negotiating Your Rights Before Publication

Just because a publisher's standard contract may include or exclude certain rights, you have the right to negotiate the contract to maintain additional rights or to increase open access to your work.

The following examples of addendums or amendments to publication agreements may be helpful as models or templates.

11 Things to Do When You Receive a Publishing Contract National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)
Phrases to Look for in Publisher Copyright Agreement Forms Becker Medical Library, Washington University - St. Louis
SPARC Author Addendum "The SPARC Author Addendum is a legal instrument that you can use to modify your copyright transfer agreements with non-open access journal publishers. It allows you to select which individual rights out of the bundle of copyrights you want to keep... The SPARC Author Addendum can be downloaded, or filled out online." (SPARC, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)
Author Rights Brochure: Using the SPARC Author Addendum This short guide provides clear explanations and advice regarding your rights and how to negotiate your agreements with publishers. (SPARC, Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition)
Scholars' Copyright Addendum Engine "The Scholar's Copyright Addendum Engine will help you generate a PDF form that you can attach to a journal publisher's copyright agreement to ensure that you retain certain rights." (Science Commons)
“I own it, don’t I?” The Rules of Academic Copyright Ownership and You by Sara R. Benson, College & Undergraduate Libraries 25.4 (Nov 2018). "...this article empowers professors to exercise their copyright rights to the full extent of the law and to negotiate their author’s agreements to benefit themselves and society as a whole..."

Regaining Rights After Publication

It may sometimes be possible to regain certain rights to past works that were already transferred to a publisher.

Rights Reversion Authors Alliance
Termination of Transfer - information and templates Authors Alliance
Termination of Transfer Tool (ToT) Authors Alliance and Creative Commons
"Why Get the Rights Back to Your Work?"
"My Publisher Agreed to Revert Rights: Now What?"

More Publishing Contracts: Digital Scholarship and Books

Model Publishing Contract for Digital Scholarship
Understanding and Negotiating Book Publication Contracts
Free PDF download from the Authors Alliance. "The guide identifies clauses that frequently appear in publishing contracts, explains in plain language what these terms (and typical variations) mean, and presents strategies for negotiating 'author-friendly' versions of these clauses. When authors have more information about copyright and publication options for their works, they are better able to make and keep their works available in the ways they want."
Video Series: Understanding the Rights Provisions of a Book Contract
By Melody Herr, University of Arkansas Libraries (Mar 2023). Four short videos address:
* Copyright ownership
* Copyright as a package of rights
* Open access and open licenses
* Contract termination