Copyright and Licensing Policy

Policy owner: Editorial Office, Open Access Cases (OAC)
Applies to: Editor-in-Chief, editors, associate editors, editorial-board members, guest editors, authors, reviewers, the publisher, and other individuals involved in the submission, assessment, production, dissemination, or reuse of content published by OAC
Effective date: Upon formal adoption by OAC
Review cycle: Every two years, or earlier if required

1. Purpose

Open Access Cases (OAC) is committed to transparent copyright practices, lawful content reuse, and the dissemination of scholarly and educational work through its Diamond Open Access publishing model.

This policy establishes the rules governing copyright ownership, publication licensing, author rights, third-party material, attribution, reuse permissions, and the responsibilities of authors and the journal in protecting intellectual property.

The policy aims to ensure that authors understand the rights they retain, readers understand the conditions under which published content may be reused, and all parties involved in publication comply with applicable copyright law and licensing requirements.

2. Scope

This policy applies to manuscripts submitted to and content published by OAC, including case studies, research-based cases, analytical articles, figures, tables, photographs, appendices, and supplementary materials, subject to any specific licence or rights statement displayed for an individual item.

It also applies to the use of third-party material within OAC publications and to requests to reuse, reproduce, adapt, translate, or commercially exploit published content.

Where a particular item is governed by a separate rights arrangement, that arrangement must be identified clearly and interpreted consistently with applicable law.

3. Copyright Ownership

3.1 Author ownership

Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing or required by applicable law, copyright in an original manuscript remains with its author or authors.

Submission to OAC does not, by itself, transfer copyright ownership to the journal or publisher.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that they have the legal authority to submit the manuscript and grant the publication and distribution rights required by OAC.

3.2 Joint authorship

Where a manuscript has multiple authors, the authors must ensure that the necessary permissions and agreements are in place for publication and licensing.

The corresponding author is responsible for confirming that all co-authors have approved the submission and understand the applicable copyright and licensing arrangements.

Disputes concerning ownership or authority to license a manuscript may result in a pause in publication until the matter is resolved.

3.3 Employer, institutional, and commissioned works

Where a manuscript was prepared as part of employment, institutional duties, a commissioned project, or a contractual arrangement, authors must establish whether an employer, institution, commissioning party, or other rights holder possesses copyright or other relevant rights.

Authors must obtain any necessary authorisation before granting OAC the rights required for publication.

OAC does not assume that an individual author owns all rights in a manuscript merely because that person submits it.

4. Publication Licence Granted to OAC

By submitting a manuscript, authors agree that, if it is accepted, OAC may publish, reproduce, distribute, display, archive, index, and make the work available online in accordance with the publication agreement and applicable rights arrangements.

The licence granted to OAC must be sufficient to support ordinary journal operations, including online publication, preservation, indexing, dissemination, and the maintenance of the scholarly record.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, this publication arrangement is non-exclusive to the extent necessary to preserve the authors' ability to exercise their retained rights and to permit lawful reuse under the applicable Creative Commons licence.

Submission does not authorise OAC to disregard third-party copyright restrictions or to grant rights that the authors do not possess.

5. Licence Applied to Published Articles

Unless otherwise stated on the relevant article, OAC publishes its articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

The licence permits users to copy and redistribute the licensed material in any medium or format, subject to its terms.

In particular, users must:

  • Give appropriate attribution: Credit the author or authors and provide other attribution information required by the licence.

  • Provide the licence reference: Include a link to the applicable Creative Commons licence and indicate whether changes were made, where required.

  • Respect the non-commercial restriction: Not use the licensed material for commercial purposes under the licence.

  • Respect the no-derivatives restriction: Not distribute modified material based on the licensed work under the licence.

  • Respect other applicable rights: Recognise that the licence does not automatically clear third-party rights or eliminate legal restrictions that apply independently.

The licence does not prevent uses that are independently permitted by applicable copyright exceptions, limitations, or other legal provisions.

The complete legal terms are available at:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

5.1 Attribution and identification

Users redistributing a licensed article must provide appropriate credit, identify the source, include the licence reference, and indicate whether changes were made, as required by the licence.

Attribution must not imply that the author, journal, or publisher endorses the user or the user's use of the material.

5.2 Commercial reuse

The CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence does not grant permission for uses that qualify as commercial under the licence.

Individuals or organisations seeking to use OAC content commercially must obtain separate permission from the relevant rights holder where such permission is required.

The journal cannot grant commercial reuse rights in third-party material unless it has the authority to do so.

5.3 Adaptations and derivative works

The licence does not permit the distribution of adapted material under its terms.

Users seeking to distribute translations, modified versions, adaptations, or other derivative material must obtain separate permission where required by copyright law.

The licence does not prohibit making changes that are not legally considered adaptations, nor does it override applicable statutory exceptions or limitations.

6. Author Rights and Reuse of Published Work

Authors retain copyright ownership where applicable and may exercise rights that are consistent with the licence and any separate publication agreement.

Subject to applicable rights and contractual arrangements, authors may:

  • Share links to their published articles.

  • Refer to and cite their work in subsequent scholarly publications.

  • Deposit manuscripts or published versions in repositories where permitted under the relevant OAC policies and licence terms.

  • Reuse their own material in teaching, presentations, academic portfolios, and other non-commercial activities, subject to third-party rights and any applicable contractual restrictions.

  • Request permission for uses that fall outside the scope of the applicable licence.

Authors must not assume that copyright ownership alone overrides the rights they have granted under a Creative Commons licence. A separate rights holder may also control some material included in the article.

The detailed conditions governing manuscript versions and repository deposits are addressed in OAC's Self-Archiving and Repository Policy.

7. Third-Party Material and Permissions

Authors are responsible for identifying material in their submissions that they do not own or control.

Third-party material may include:

  • Photographs, illustrations, and graphics.

  • Tables, charts, and diagrams.

  • Screenshots and reproduced documents.

  • Company reports, financial statements, and proprietary records.

  • Maps, datasets, software outputs, and other media.

  • Previously published text or other copyrighted content.

Before submission, authors must obtain any permissions required for the intended use and publication of such material.

Where third-party material is excluded from the article's Creative Commons licence, the exclusion must be indicated clearly, preferably adjacent to the material or in an appropriate credit line.

An article's overall licence must not be interpreted as granting rights in material that the author or publisher is not authorised to license.

7.1 Quotations and other legally permitted uses

Material may be included without a separate permission where the use is authorised by applicable copyright law, including any relevant quotation, criticism, review, research, or fair-use or fair-dealing provision.

Authors must assess the applicable legal requirements, including attribution and any limits on the amount or nature of material used.

OAC may request clarification or supporting documentation where the legal basis for using third-party material is uncertain.

7.2 Trademarks and identifiable organisations

Company names, logos, trademarks, product images, and other identifying materials may be subject to rights separate from copyright.

Authors must ensure that their use of such material is appropriate for the manuscript's purpose and complies with applicable law. Inclusion of a company name or trademark for identification does not, by itself, imply endorsement by the rights holder.

8. Author Warranties and Responsibilities

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm, to the best of their knowledge and subject to the publication agreement, that:

  1. They have the authority to submit the work and grant the necessary publication rights.

  2. The manuscript does not knowingly infringe copyright or other intellectual property rights.

  3. Required permissions for third-party material have been obtained or a valid legal basis for its use has been established.

  4. Relevant rights holders and sources are appropriately acknowledged.

  5. Any restrictions affecting publication, dissemination, or reuse have been disclosed to OAC.

  6. The manuscript complies with the journal's applicable publication ethics and research integrity requirements.

Authors must promptly inform OAC if they discover a rights issue after submission or publication.

OAC may delay publication, request replacement or removal of disputed material, or take other proportionate action where a rights concern remains unresolved.

9. Requests for Reuse and Additional Permissions

Requests to use OAC content in ways not authorised by the applicable licence should be directed to the relevant copyright holder or rights administrator.

Depending on the request, OAC may:

  • Explain the licence applicable to the material.

  • Identify the relevant rights holder where that information is available.

  • Consider requests for permissions where the journal or publisher holds the necessary rights.

  • Direct applicants to third-party rights holders where OAC cannot authorise the requested use.

Permission requests should identify the work, the material to be reused, the intended purpose, the proposed format, the distribution channel, and whether the use is commercial.

Permission must not be assumed merely because an article is openly accessible or because the request has been submitted.

10. Copyright Complaints and Disputed Material

OAC takes credible allegations of copyright infringement and other intellectual property violations seriously.

A complaint should identify the relevant article or material, the rights allegedly infringed, the complainant's relationship to the rights, and supporting information where reasonably available.

Upon receiving a complaint, OAC may:

  1. Acknowledge and assess the complaint.

  2. Request additional information from the complainant or relevant author.

  3. Temporarily restrict access to disputed material where reasonably necessary.

  4. Request evidence of ownership, authority, or permission.

  5. Seek clarification or legal advice where appropriate.

  6. Correct, replace, remove, or restrict the disputed material where justified.

  7. Restore access or publish a clarification where the complaint is not substantiated.

The journal will seek to resolve complaints fairly and proportionately while protecting the rights of authors, readers, and legitimate rights holders.

A complaint does not automatically establish infringement. Equally, the journal's open-access status does not exempt it or its contributors from applicable copyright obligations.

11. Corrections, Removal, and the Published Record

Where a copyright or licensing issue is identified after publication, OAC will determine an appropriate response based on the nature of the issue, the rights involved, the reliability of the article, and applicable law.

Possible actions include:

  • Correcting a credit line or rights statement.

  • Replacing material with an authorised alternative.

  • Removing or restricting access to specific material.

  • Publishing a correction or clarification.

  • Issuing a retraction where the issue materially compromises the article and cannot be addressed adequately through a lesser measure.

Where an article is corrected or withdrawn, OAC will seek to maintain an accurate and transparent publication record, including an appropriate notice where necessary.

Removal of an article will not be undertaken merely to conceal an error or avoid legitimate scrutiny.

12. Relationship with Open Access and Other OAC Policies

This policy operates alongside OAC's Open Access and Diamond Publishing Policy and should be read with the following policies where applicable:

  • Self-Archiving and Repository Policy.

  • Preprint Policy.

  • Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Policy.

  • Research Ethics, Consent and Confidentiality Policy.

  • Third-Party Material and Permissions Policy.

  • Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern Policy.

  • Artificial Intelligence Use and Disclosure Policy.

Where a rights issue overlaps with a publication ethics concern, OAC may apply both this policy and the relevant research integrity procedures.

13. Policy Administration and Review

The Editorial Office is responsible for maintaining this policy in coordination with the Editor-in-Chief and publisher.

The policy will be reviewed every two years, or earlier if required by changes in applicable law, licensing arrangements, recognised scholarly publishing standards, or OAC's publishing practices.

Material revisions will be documented and communicated through the journal's website.