Copyrights and Repository of the University of Alicante (RUA):
FAQ's

  1. Can I deposit a document which has been previously published in a journal, submitted to a conference, etc. (post-print)?
  2. What can I do if I have signed a contract which does not allow me to deposit an already published document (Post-print)?
  3. Can I deposit a document which I intend to publish in the future (pre-print)?
  4. Can I deposit a document which will not be published in the future?
  5. What happens if the document I want to deposit has more than one author?
  6. What are the general terms that authors must accept to deposit their document?
  7. How can I protect my work from illegal uses (plagiarism, reproduction for commercial purposes, etc.) if it is open accessed?
  8. What type of licence can I choose?
  9. What can I do if someone does not obbey the terms established in the licence assigned to my work?
  10. How I can get more information about copyright?

1. Can I deposit a document which has been previously published in a journal, submitted to a conference, etc. (post-print)?

Authors have full moral and exploitation rights and, thus, can deposit their document, unless they have assigned the exploitation rights to a third person exclusively (e.g. a journal editor). In general, when the documents are published in a journal, authors transfer the reproduction and distribution rights to the editor. Nevertheless, most of international commercial editors allow auto-archive in legal deposits with some limitations (e.g. they do not allow uploading the final version in PDF).

If authors have transferred any exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution or public communication) exclusively to a third person, authors must not store the document on the deposit without the editor's permission.

In case authors ignore the terms by which they have transferred their exploitation rights, they can check:

If you do not have this information available, check on the Internet SHERPA and DULCINEA databases, where the copyright policies of the main commercial scientific-technical editiors have been analyzed.

In any case, the RUA administrators will - before accepting your document- check that it can be deposited in open access at the UA repository.

For further questions on this topic, contact us.

2. What can I do if I have signed a contract which does not allow me to deposit an already published document (Post-print)?

Authors can ask for written permission from their editors. If this permission is denied, alternatively, drafts (pre-print) can be deposited without the modifications proposed by the Review Committee.

3. Can I deposit a document which I intend to publish in the future (pre-print)?

Yes you can. If the work has not been published yet, it is perfectly to do it. However, you have to consider that some editors only accept works which have not been previously disseminated.

Also, if you are considering applying for a patent in the future, any previous dissemination of the invention or work, may affect the novelty and validity of the patent. Therefore, you should not disseminate the work in this case.

4. Can I deposit a document which will not be published in the future?

Some document have not been published due to their typology (e.g. work documents, some teaching material, etc.) In such cases, authors have all moral and exploitation rights and, therefore, can deposit them without restrictions.

5. What happens if the document I want to deposit has more than one author?

It will depend whether the work can be qualified as 'work in collaboration' or as 'collective work'.

Work in collaboration is the work whose authorship corresponds to all of the authors since it is the result of team work. In this case, the consent of all of them is required for its dissemination.

On the other hand, a collective work is a work in which -although several authors participate- there is an entity (an individual or a legal entity) who takes the initiative and coordinates of the work. In such cases, authorship corresponds to such a person (unless otherwise established) and it would only require the consent of this person to be able to disseminate the work.

6. What are the general terms that authors must accept to deposit their document?

Authors or co-authors should grant the University of Alicante a non-exclusive licence to maintain and make their documents accesible in electronic format from the Repository of the University of Alicante. (RUA).

With the concession of this non-exclusive licence, the academic and research staff keeps their copyright and, thus, they can use the work deposited as they wish (publish it, deposit it in other repositories, etc.).

Non-exclusive Distribution Licence

In order to let the University of Alicante's Repository reproduce and announce its documents, acceptance of the following conditions is required. Please, read carefully the following terms of the licence:

If these terms are not observed by authors, they ar enot allowed to deposit any document.

7. How can I protect my work from illegal uses (plagiarism, reproduction for commercial purposes, etc.) if it is open accessed?

All work is protected by the laws of copyright. In order to specify the conditions under which some rights are given to third parties under certain circumstances, the author can choose a Creative Commons license.

Creative Commons is a non-profit International Organization which offers a flexible copyright system for creative work.

Creative Commons offers a wide range of licences which comprise from traditional copyright system to public domain. With the Creative Commons licences, authors authorize the use of their work, although work keep their protection.

The system functions as follows: Authors who create a work and want to exploit it on the Internet, choose one of the Creative Commons licence and, when they publish their work on the Internet, they identify it with the symbol of Creative Commons and attach the use licence. Thus, when users enter the document, they will be able to identify which conditions of the author are for the use of the work.

8. What type of licence can I choose?

There are six different models of licence:

Attribution:
Authors allow copying, reproducing, distributing, public communication of the work, performing derived works (translation, adaptation, etc.). They also allow commercial use, provided the original author is quoted and recognized.
Attribution-No Derivative Works:
Authors allow copying, reproducing, distributing, public communication of the work, commercial use, provided the original author is quoted and recognized. However, a derived work is not allowed.
Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works:
Authors allow copying, reproducing, distributing, public communication of the work, provided the original author is quoted and recognized. However, neither a derived work nor its use for commercial purposes is allowed.
Attribution-NonCommercial:
Authors allow copying, reproducing, distributing, public communication of the work and generating derived works, provided the original author is quoted and recognized. However, neither a derived work nor its use for commercial purposes is allowed.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike:
apart from the previously mentioned permissions, distribution of the derived works is allowed, exclusively with the same type of licence.
Attribution + ShareAlike:
Authors allow copying, reproducing, distributing, public communication of the work and generating derived works, provided the original author is quoted and recognized. Also, the distribution of derived works exclusively with a licence of the same type.

9. What can I do if someone does not obbey the terms established in the licence assigned to my work?

When a user of a Creative Commons licence become a licensee and is committed to observe the terms of the licence established by the author.

In case of non-observance of a Creative Commons licence, the author must appeal to court. If a direct infringement is committed (by a user of a Creative Commons licence), the author can sue the user due to both infringement of the Intellectual Property and non-observance of the contract (since the licence creates a direct link between the author and users/licensees).

The moral right of integrity envisaged in the Spanish Legislation is protected although it is shown in the Creative Commons licences. These licences do not substitute nor reduce the rights of the author conferred by law; therefore, authors can sue those users who may have modified any licence or mutilated a work causing damage to their reputation or interests. Of course, the final decision of the damage caused will be in the charge of the Court.

10. How I can get more information about copyright?

You can go to the Suport to Research Unit at the University Library, where they will try to answer questions relating to copyright, free licenses, open access, etc. You can also check the page on the intellectual property of the University Library, where you will get more detailed information about it.