Retain your rights

Negotiate with the publisher

Retaining rights to images or diagrams

There are two ways in which you can possibly retain the rights to your images and diagrams:

  1. Upload your images or diagrams into figshare and make them available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence. The publisher can then use them under this licence and you retain rights to adapt and re-use them. 
  2. Negotiate with publishers to retain the copyright for your own images and diagrams (so you can use them elsewhere) while assigning copyright for the text to the publisher. The publisher will need a non-exclusive licence to include those images and diagrams within the work to be published. 

Publishers commonly provide submitting authors with a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA). Within the CTA you may need to amend the definition of work or contribution, to exclude the images and diagrams you wish to retain the copyright in, and grant the publisher a separate licence to publish those figures and images. You will need to describe the images or diagrams clearly, possibly providing them as separate and distinguishable files.

Generic agreement

Original text

The undersigned, with the consent of all authors, hereby transfers, to the extent that there is copyright to be transferred, the exclusive copyright interest in the above-cited manuscript (subsequently called the “work”) in this and all subsequent editions of the work (to include closures and errata), and in derivatives, translations, or ancillaries, in English and in foreign translations, in all formats and media of expression now known or later developed, including electronic, to [the publisher] …:

Replacement text (amended and additional clauses)

The undersigned, with the consent of all authors, hereby transfers, to the extent that there is copyright to be transferred, the exclusive copyright interest in the above-cited manuscript, but not the figures included in the manuscript, (subsequently called the “work”) …

New clause granting the publisher a licence to publish the figures:

I grant the [publisher] a non-exclusive licence to reproduce the figures in the work in this and all subsequent editions of the work (to include closures and errata), and in derivatives, translations, or ancillaries, in English and in foreign translations, in all formats and media of expression now known or later developed, including electronic.

Elsevier

Original text

B. To facilitate publication of the Contribution, the Contributor assigns to the Publisher the copyright and all other rights in and to the Contribution.  This assignment of rights means that the Contributor has given the Publisher the exclusive right to publish and reproduce the Contribution, or any part of the contribution, in print and all other forms of media, in any edition, revision, or other form, in all languages, throughout the world, and the right to license others to do the same.…

Replacement text (amended clause, changes italicised)

B. To facilitate publication of the Contribution, the Contributor assigns to the Publisher the copyright and all other rights in and to the Contribution excluding Illustrations prepared by the Contributor.  This assignment of rights means that the Contributor has given the Publisher the exclusive right to publish and reproduce the Contribution, or any part of the contribution, in print and all other forms of media, in any edition, revision, or other form, in all languages, throughout the world, and the right to license others to do the same. The Contributor grants the Publisher a non-exclusive right to publish and reproduce the Illustrations prepared by the Contributor in print and all other forms of media, in any edition, revision, or other form, in all languages, throughout the world, and the right to license others to do the same.

Bentham Science

Original text

1.1 The “Work” is the research article, review article, letter, clinical trial study, report, article, or other copyright work, as identified in the Copyright Letter and further detailed in Schedule 1: Details of the Work (including such form of the copyright work submitted to Bentham Science for publication pursuant to clause 4, below), but excluding (except where context otherwise requires) any diagrams, figures or illustration specifically identified to Bentham Science pursuant to clause 3.2 below.
…
3.2 To the extent that copyright in any of the diagrams, illustrations or figures incorporated into the Work does not belong to the Assignor, the Assignor undertakes to specifically identify such diagrams, illustrations or figures to Bentham Science, and to procure for Bentham Science such rights as will enable Bentham Science to use (without limitation) such diagrams, illustrations and figures, without restriction, in the course of publishing the Work. Such rights shall be perpetual and irrevocable, and shall extend to the right to sublicense to third parties in a similar manner. Where context requires, references to “Work” in this Agreement shall include references to such diagrams, illustrations or figures.

Replacement text (amended clause, changes italicised)

3.2 Copyright in any of the diagrams, illustrations or figures incorporated into the Work which belong to the Assignor are retained by the Assignor.  The Assignor grants Bentham Science a non-exclusive licence to use (without limitation) any of the diagrams, illustrations or figures incorporated into the Work without restriction, in the course of publishing the Work. Such rights shall be perpetual and irrevocable, and shall extend to the right to sub-licence to third parties in a similar manner and shall extend to the right to sub-licence to third parties in a similar manner.

The Assignor undertakes to specifically identify such diagrams, illustrations or figures to Bentham Science, and where the Assignor does not own copyright in them to procure for Bentham Science such rights as will enable Bentham Science to use (without limitation) such diagrams, illustrations and figures, without restriction, in the course of publishing the Work. Such rights shall be perpetual and irrevocable, and shall extend to the right to sub-licence to third parties in a similar manner. Where context requires, references to “Work” in this Agreement shall include references to such diagrams, illustrations or figures.

Permission instead of retained rights

Wiley-Blackwell is an example of a publisher that requires assignment of copyright in the publication but grants back to the author rights to re-use figures, tables, data sets, artwork, and selected text up to 250 words. This is a clause in the contract in which these rights are granted back to the author:

  1. Article Abstracts, Figures, Tables, Data Sets, Artwork and Selected Text (up to 250 words) 
    1. Contributors may re-use unmodified abstracts for any non-commercial purpose. For on-line uses of abstracts, Wiley-Blackwell encourages but does not require lining back to the final published versions.
    2. Contributors may re-use figures, tales, datasets, artwork, and selected text up to 250 words from their Contributions, provided the following conditions are met:
      1. Full and accurate credit must be given to the Contribution.
      2. Modifications to the figures, tables and data must be noted. Otherwise, not changes may be made.
      3. The re-use may not be made for direct commercial purposes, or for financial consideration to the Contributor.
      4. Nothing herein shall permit dual publication in violation of journal ethical practices.

However, the restriction on re-using for direct commercial purposes, or for financial consideration to the Contributor may preclude the use of images in books or future journal articles. Therefore, if you are attempting to retain copyright in your illustrations then it is important to clearly identify these and include the list as an appendix to the agreement.

Reversion of rights

Authors commonly transfer rights to publishers in a publishing agreement. In time, you might want to regain those rights, for example if your book goes out of print or if you want to do something not envisioned in the original agreement such as putting your work in an open access online repository.

The Authors Alliance has information on the transfer and reversion of rights, and advice on how to regain copyright to your work.

See also