Rights retention: versions, agreements and open access

Start with the correct version

Submitted manuscripts, Accepted Author Manuscripts (AAMs) and Versions of Record (VoRs) have different conditions. “The article PDF” is insufficient: identify the version, licence, repository and deposit timing.

The cOAlition S Rights Retention Strategy concerns applicable funder requirements, not universal legal permission for every author and agreement. This guide provides a review workflow rather than a legal decision for an individual case.

Compare four documents before acting

Record the grant condition, institutional policy, journal policy and proposed agreement with dates. Use Open Policy Finder to find the relevant record and official policy. A policy record does not replace the actual contract or conflict assessment.

Hypothetical case: a funder requires immediate AAM access under a specified licence while a proposed agreement imposes a delay. Resolve this with the institutional library or legal office before signing rather than relying on a template sentence.

Prior notice and coauthor agreement

Where an applicable policy preserves rights, give the required notice in the appropriate place and time and document coauthor agreement. Do not copy wording before establishing that the funder or institutional policy applies.

Text licensing does not automatically cover adapted figures, photographs, data or code. Assess third-party and confidential materials separately and remove or obtain permission where necessary.

Deposit and metadata

Deposit the permitted version with title, authors, status, date, article DOI when available and the correct licence. Link versions; do not label an accepted manuscript as the typeset publisher version.

A publication-based thesis also requires checking figure/text reuse, thesis access and deposit timing. Retain permissions, exceptions and official responses in the decision record.

Ambiguous or incompatible conditions

Prepare the precise clause, intended version and a clear question for the institutional office and obtain a written answer. Consider another outlet or a valid exception according to that decision.

Policies and agreements change. Open access or repository use does not automatically confer ownership of every right.

Completed teaching worksheet

This is a hypothetical teaching case, not observed data, an actual review or a publication acceptance. Numbers illustrate decisions.

Deliverables and completion checks

• A version-specific policy and contract comparison.
• Conflict-resolution, notice and coauthor records.
• A permitted deposit with correct metadata.

Version and scope references: cOAlition S — Rights Retention Strategy · Jisc — Open Policy Finder