Copyright & Licensing

Authors retain copyright in articles published by the journal. Copyright ownership remains with the authors, while the journal receives the right of first publication and the non-exclusive publishing rights necessary to publish, distribute, display, and maintain the article as part of the journal's scholarly record.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits broad reuse while requiring appropriate attribution to the authors and the publication source.

Copyright Ownership

Copyright in an article remains with the authors. Publication through the journal does not transfer copyright ownership to the journal or publisher.

Authors retain rights in their scholarly work, including the right to reuse the article in accordance with the applicable publication license and journal policies.

The copyright notice displayed with the article must reflect this ownership and identify the authors as the copyright holders.

Journal Publication Rights

Upon acceptance of an article for publication, the authors grant the journal the non-exclusive right of first publication.

These rights authorize the journal to:

  • publish the article as part of the journal's scholarly publication;
  • distribute and make the article available through the journal website;
  • display and maintain the Version of Record;
  • store and preserve the article to support the continuity of the scholarly record;
  • manage metadata, DOI information, and bibliographic information associated with the article; and
  • make the article available through indexing, archiving, preservation, or scholarly distribution services used by the journal.

The grant of these non-exclusive rights does not diminish the authors' copyright ownership or restrict reuse of the article in accordance with the applicable license.

Creative Commons License

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this license, users may:

  • copy and redistribute the article in any medium or format;
  • translate or adapt the article;
  • remix, transform, or build upon the article; and
  • use the article for noncommercial or commercial purposes.

Such use must comply with the applicable attribution requirements, including:

  • giving appropriate credit to the authors;
  • identifying the publication source;
  • providing a link or reference to CC BY 4.0 where reasonably possible; and
  • indicating whether changes, adaptations, or modifications have been made.

Users may not apply additional legal or technological restrictions that prevent others from exercising the rights granted under CC BY 4.0.

Attribution and Third-Party Materials

Reuse of an article must preserve the traceability of the authors and the publication source. Attribution must be presented in a reasonable manner appropriate to the medium, format, and form of reuse.

Third-party materials included in an article, such as figures, photographs, maps, tables, illustrations, instruments, or other materials for which copyright is held by another party, are not automatically covered by CC BY 4.0 where a different rights notice, license, or terms of use are indicated.

Authors are responsible for:

  • ensuring that the use of third-party materials has an appropriate legal basis or the required permission;
  • providing attribution to the rights holder where required;
  • providing relevant license or permission information; and
  • clearly identifying materials that are not covered by the article's CC BY 4.0 license.

Users seeking to reuse such third-party materials must comply with the terms applicable to those materials and obtain permission from the rights holder where required.

Application and Related Policies

Copyright and licensing information must be displayed consistently with published articles so that ownership status and reuse rights can be clearly identified.

The CC BY 4.0 license stated for an article applies to article content that falls within the scope of the authors' rights and does not automatically extend to logos, visual identity, website design, interface elements, or other materials on the journal website that are subject to separate copyright terms.

Requirements concerning free access to articles follow the Open Access Policy. Authors' rights to deposit, share, or archive manuscript and article versions follow the Repository & Self-Archiving Policy.