I am an author

This guide is intended to provide a brief introduction and answer frequently asked questions. It does not seek to be exhaustive and definitely cannot be taken as legal advice.

If you need legal support, we recommend that you contact colleagues at the HKBU Knowledge Transfer Office as they work with solicitors and legal advisers on a daily basis and can offer in-depth consultations and professional advice.

Q1 | What do I need to be aware of when signing publisher agreements?

When publishing your work, you will be presented with a contract or copyright transfer agreement stipulated by the publisher. Many of these agreements ask you to transfer copyright fully to the publisher, thereby restricting your subsequent usage, including resuse of your work in teaching and further research. Depending on publisher policy, copyright transfer may also restrict inclusion of your published work on course websites, in scholarly presentations, on your personal web page or in HKBU IRIMS.

When presented with a copyright transfer agreement, you should therefore take the time to understand what you are signing away. With some negotiations, a compromise can sometimes be reached that can avoid the all or nothing scenario.

Q2 | What rights do I have as an author when reusing or sharing my work?

Depending on publisher policy and the agreement you signed with them, there are restrictions on how you can reuse or share your work, including sharing in teaching and research. Fortunately, some large publishers do support sharing under various terms. You should check to ensure that you are allowed to share and which version is the correct version (see Q4 below) to avoid copyright infringement.

Elsevier Sharing Policy

Springer Nature - SharedIt

Taylor & Francis or Routledge Journal - Sharing your work

Wiley Content Sharing

Q3 | Are there any copyright issues if I upload my work to academic social networks such as ResearchGate?

Despite immense popularity among authors and researchers around the world, some academic social networks have developed bad reputations for violating copyright. The problem is partly the result of academics overlooking copyright issues and uploading articles to these networks without checking the copyright transfer agreements they signed. In the case of ResearchGate, they have also been accused of harvesting online articles and inviting researchers to claim and upload their papers with no concern for copyright.

To avoid infringements, you should check to ensure copyright clearance before uploading or self-archiving. The SHERPA RoMEO database is also a good place to check publishers' copyright and self-archiving policies. Alternatively, contact the Library and we are happy to assist you in checking publisher policies and confirm which versions are permitted (see Q4 below).

Publishers threaten to remove millions of paper from ResearchGate | Nature

SHERPA RoMEO Database - for checking publishers' copyright policy and self-archiving

Q4 | What versions am I allowed to use when uploading my article to IRIMS or a non-HKBU repository?

Most publishers differentiate between three versions of a manuscript as follows:

Preprint

Also known as Submitted Manuscript in IRIMS, this is the early form of your paper you submit to a journal and has not been through the peer review process, usually in a word processing format.

Postprint

Also known as Accepted Author Manuscript in IRIMS, this is the paper after peer review with revisions that have been accepted for publication by the publisher. Usually this is still in word processing format but has incorporated reviewers comments and is the final version of the paper before it is sent off for publication.

Identical content as the Publisher's Version
No formatting
No design
May also be referred to as the “post-print”, “post peer-review”, or “manuscript”

3. Publishers Version/PDF

Also known as Final Published Version in IRIMS or the Version of Record (VoR), this is the final definitive citable version of an article published on the publisher's website, professionally typeset by the publisher. This is the version Library databases will link to and depending on publisher policy, is often unaccessible without subscription access until after an embargo period.

Generally speaking, publishers are more likely to allow the sharing of preprint versus postprint or the publisher version. You should check your copyright transfer agreement to ensure that you have the right to use which version. In the case that you have misplaced your transfer agreement, the SHERPA/RoMEO database is a good place to check publishers' copyright and self-archiving policies.

SHERPA RoMEO Database - for checking publishers' copyright policy and self-archiving

Q5 | As HKBU staff, do I own copyright of my work?

According to Hong Kong copyright law, generally speaking, the author of an original work is the first owner of any copyright in the work. For work created by employees, however, the employer is the first copyright owner unless an alternative agreement has been made. In the case of commissioned work, ownership of copyright depends on the agreement between the parties. As HKBU staff, the University policy stipulates copyright ownership as follows:

Outside sponsor‐supported projects

Copyright to works partially or fully funded by sponsors will be determined in accordance with the terms of the contract or grants.

HKBU‐funded projects

For HKBU-funded projects, although ownership resides with the University, the University normally assigns the copyright back to the author to recognize contributions made by staff (and students) concerned and to encourage scholarship and creativity. The royalty income, if any, should be shared between the author(s) and the University by a proportion as determined by the Knowledge Transfer Committee.

Individual efforts

Copyrights on books, journal articles, creative works and other copyrightable materials produced by faculty and staff members as part of their normal scholarly activities belong to the author(s).

Source | Administrative Guidelines for the protection of Intellectual Property Rights | Knowledge Transfer Office

Q6 | I know my works are deposited in the HKBU IRIMS and/or published OA, but how does it help me?

HKBU has had an Open Access Policy since 2016 requiring that you as faculty deposit your work in the University repositories, including the IRIMS launched in August 2021.

As a global trend, publishers nowadays have also established various OA models (Green, Gold, or Platinum/Diamond) with authors retaining copyright. Depending on the OA type, there may be an Article Processing Charge (APC) usually paid by the authors or a Transformative Agreement (TA) license fee paid by the University Library.

Apart from contributing to the free flow of scholarly information, there is a substantial body of research showing that making your own articles open access can potentially increase the discoverability and impact of your work, as well as the number of citations you receive, known as OACA, the Open Access Citation Advantage. Publishing OA also means that your research can be re-used by third parties with little or no restrictions.

HKBU Library Open Access Guide | HKBU Library

IRIMS User Guide | HKBU Library

OACA - The Open Access Citation Advantage | ScienceMetrics