1. Morag Greig, Advocacy Manager (Enlighten) University of Glasgow
Legal Issues Repositories Support Project Summer School, Thornton Hall Friday 20th June 2008
Morag Greig, Advocacy Manager (Enlighten)
University of Glasgow

2. Broader legal issues for repositories and institutions
Outline
Copyright and repositories: the issues - Copyright and eprints - Copyright and other types of material - Copyright and e theses
Broader legal issues for repositories and institutions

3. Copyright and repositories: background
The ownership of the copyright of some of the items we want authors to deposit in our repositories often lies with publishers rather than authors
Many journal publishers require authors to sign a copyright transfer agreement before they will publish an article
Book authors more likely to retain copyright, but unlikely to retain rights relating to distribution of their work
Theses authors generally retain copyright, but issues with 3rd party copyright material in their work
Some material will not have significant copyright issues attached.

4. Copyright and repositories: not all doom and gloom!
Although many publishers require authors to transfer copyright, many also give back certain rights to authors.
Significant number of journal publishers do permit deposit in repositories so long as certain conditions are met.
Some publishers offer a license to publish as an alternative to copyright transfer
Over the last few years publishers have had to develop a more flexible approach to this area.

5. Copyright: academics and concerns
Despite the fact that many publishers permit deposit in repositories so long as conditions are met, many academics are concerned that they may be in contravention of copyright law.
Significant reassurance and advocacy work in this area are required.
Important to educate authors about what they can and can’t do
Possibility of encouraging authors to look more closely at copyright issues and perhaps use author addendums (e.g. those developed by SPARC and JISC/SURF), but this can be controversial
May need to offer to check copyright situation for material being deposited

6. Journal articles and copyright
Many publishers now have policies on whether authors may deposit in repositories or not.
Best way of checking is to use the RoMEO publisher policies & self-archiving database ( in conjunction with publisher web sites if necessary
If a publisher/journal is not listed in RoMEO, recommend for inclusion or contact publisher directly (at Glasgow we use a standard template for contacting publishers)

8. Journal articles: common publisher conditions
Important to look at conditions. Most common relate to: - version of paper that can be deposited; - when the paper can be deposited (embargo periods); - where the paper can be deposited (what type of repository, distinctions between personal website and repositories); - standard forms of wording that must be included within the repository record for the article.

9. Journal articles: versions
Most publishers do not permit deposit of the final published version of an article they produce (a small number still do)
Generally what they permit is the ‘author final version’/’author post-print’
Requires authors to keep a version of their articles that is as close to the published version as possible
Can be problematic

10. Journal articles: embargo periods
Can range from 6-18 months depending on the publisher
Can be dealt with by software – automatically making papers available on a specific date
Best not to wait until the end of an embargo period to get papers from authors
At Glasgow we make the metadata available immediately and add information about the embargo and when it will expire.

12. Journal articles: where the paper can be deposited
Some publishers permit deposit in an institutional but not in a subject based repository
Some publishers make a distinction between repositories and author’s personal websites
Some ways of addressing this, though not all ideal.

13. Journal articles: publisher required wording
Some publishers require a standard wording to be included within the record in the repository e.g. Blackwell ‘The definitive version is available at

14. Journal articles: watch out for…
Publishers sometimes changes their policies
Idiosyncratic policies e.g. ‘Authors are required to contact publisher before posting (permissions below will always be granted)’
Always check the conditions carefully

15. Copyright and other types of material: books
Books and book chapters: nearly always necessary to contact the publisher and seek permission – usually a case by case basis decision
Useful if author can help with this process
Publishers more likely to give permission if book is several years old and/or out of print
Making one chapter available can act as useful free advertising for publishers!
Often very rewarding if permission is granted

16. Copyright and other types of material: conferences
Conference publications – some major publishers of conference proceedings make available their copyright transfer agreements on their websites
In many cases may be necessary to seek permission directly
If necessary ask authors to help direct you to the appropriate person to ask about permissions

17. Copyright and other types of material
Sound recordings, performances, design etc.
Many different rights holders involved
Permission seeking likely to be resource intensive and take time
Critical to involve author
Educate ‘authors’ to consider permissions issues if they are planning performances etc.

18. Most universities permit students to retain copyright in their thesis
Copyright and theses
Most universities permit students to retain copyright in their thesis
Major issue is inclusion of 3rd party material within theses
Tolerated within print theses – historically students have not sought permission to include this material
However, generally agreed that permission needs to be sought if the thesis is to be made available online (‘communication to the public’)

19. Advice and training likely to be necessary
Copyright and theses
Best if students can seek permission to include 3rd party copyright material within electronic version of their thesis
Advice and training likely to be necessary
Need to build in procedures if students cannot get permission for material or are asked to pay for it

20. Copyright challenges for repositories
Who checks if it is ok for an article to be made available within your repository?
How do you check?
Should you encourage authors to use author addendums etc. ?
How can you reassure authors about their copyright concerns?

21. Broader legal issues for repositories and institutions

22. Legal issues for repositories and institutions
Risk assessment
Deposit licenses/agreements
Take down policies

23. Consider possible risks your repository might face
Risk assessment
Consider possible risks your repository might face
Some low level risk is necessary in order to progress
But remember that all repositories are in the same position
No evidence so far that any repositories have faced legal action from publishers or individuals

24. Institutional legal departments/staff
May be helpful to consult with your internal legal department (if you have one)
However, bear in mind that institutional lawyers are likely to advise erring on the side of caution
Can be difficult for lawyers to advise on repository matters, as there is no case law or precedent in this area
May need to decide if it is better to have clear policy documents rather than legally binding agreements

25. Deposit license/agreement
Consider developing a license for depositors
Do you want this to have legal standing?
Rights and responsibilities of depositors and the repository
Could include details of eligible depositors; deposition rules; moderation; content quality control; publishers' and funders' embargos; copyright policy etc. (Source: OpenDOAR Policies tool)
Can also develop use policies for end users

26. May not have legal standing, but very useful to put in place
Take down policy
May not have legal standing, but very useful to put in place
Makes clear how the repository will deal with material which has been challenged, e.g. by a publisher or by an author
Guidance from JISC Legal suggests that with a robust take down policy in place complaints are unlikely to be taken further

27. An awareness of the legal issues relating to repositories is important
Summary
An awareness of the legal issues relating to repositories is important
However, legal issues do not need to stand in the way of developing successful repositories
Important to reassure authors that they CAN deposit in repositories without contravening copyright law
Use the UK repository community for advice and reassurance

28. Discussion groups: questions
What are the major legal issues for your repository?
Do you need to put any policies in place that address legal issues?
Do you need to talk to people in your organisation about legal issues? If so, who, and about what?
Each group to report back briefly on the outcome of the discussions and actions to take back to your institutions.