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Author Rights

A guide for our faculty, graduate students and others who publish works who work at the University of South Carolina.

Available Addendums

Copyright Addendums

Many publishers are open to you retaining some rights.  Adding an addendum to your contract/author's agreement with your publisher is a convenient way to seek the rights you would like to retain. Here are the steps to attaching an addendum:

  • Sign your publisher’s copyright transfer or publication agreement when you submit your final manuscript for publication. Note in the cover letter that the the agreement is subject to the attached amendment.
  • Attach the amendment with the information filled in and your signature at the bottom.
  • Send both to publisher and save a copy for your records.
  • The publisher may accept the amendment, reject it outright, or attempt to negotiate the agreement. You can choose to sign the original or modified version of the agreement, continue negotiations, or find a new publisher.

NIH Public Access Policy

If you need to secure the right to deposit your article in NIH’s PubMed Central, NIH suggests inserting the following language into the publisher’s agreement:

“Journal acknowledges that Author retains the right to provide a copy of the final manuscript to NIH, upon acceptance for Journal publication or thereafter, for public archiving in PubMed Central as soon as possible after publication by Journal.”

For more information, visit the NIH Public Access Policy LibGuide.