From Course Packs to AI: Evolving Author and Publisher Rights in Journal Publishing Agreements

Introduction: This study analyzes the content of non-Open Access (OA) article publishing agreements from 15 publishers. Themes, commonalities, and differences are identified, as well as recommendations to publishers and salient aspects that librarians will find helpful when building copyright knowledge. Methods: In this study, 16 journal publishing agreements, a mix of large corporate publishers, scholarly presses, and associations, were examined, entered into a rubric, and analyzed in Excel. In 2003, Gadd et al. conducted a similar study; their method was used as inspiration and updated for today’s publishing landscape. Results: Findings show that a mix of copyright transfer agreements and licenses is used. Over two-thirds of the publishers in this study require authors to give up their copyright to be published without paying article processing charges. There is often little to no difference between exclusive licenses to publish and copyright transfer agreements in terms of rights retained by authors. One area of note is that some agreements allow the inclusion of authors’ works in AI products and tools without the notification or permission from the authors required. Conclusion: Publishers have adapted to today’s environment. Librarians should continue practicing copyright literacy in order to assist scholars to make informed decisions and remain current with publisher practices.