When you write an article to publish in a journal, your own copyrights come in to play. This page will give an overview of things you should consider as you work through the publication process.
Under U.S. copyright law, the creator of the original expression in a work is its author. The author is also the owner of copyright unless there is a written agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author.
The Xavier University Library upholds the Xavier University Intellectual Property and Patent Policy. The Library can direct authors to relevant resources and encourages authors to explore their own rights. Consultation with the Office of the General Counsel is recommended.
Exhibit, Xavier University's institutional repository, makes no copyright claims to items submitted to it. Your publisher may allow a pre-print or post-print manuscript to be submitted to Exhibit, allowing you to share that form of the article.
The contract from the publisher will likely contain language detailing who owns the copyright on the article. If the journal is not open access, it is likely that the journal publisher is expecting to retain copyright to your article or chapter. They may allow you to include the article in coursepacks or distribute pre-print versions of the article, as long as you attribute the final form to them. Read your contract carefully so you know what you are agreeing to.
You may be able to submit a rider to retain copyright of your article or chapter. The University of Illinois Library has created an extensive guide outlining your options. SPARC, the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition has an author addendum you can use or adapt, as well as other resources for academic authors.
Sherpa Romeo maintains a list of publishers and journals that are open access or have pledged to move to hybrid or open access publishing. See if journals in your discipline meet your needs and offer open access publishing.