From: "Mackinder, Lisa" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 7 May 2015 13:39:05 +0000

What do you all make of a publisher who rejects the Authors’ Own Works clause because “each author has their own agreement that covers this”?  The clause itself says, “Notwithstanding any terms or conditions to the contrary in any author agreement…” so we’re already acknowledging that there may be contradictions in author agreements between the publisher and the author, but if I’m understanding this clause correctly, the intent is to hold the publisher accountable to a higher standard in their dealings with their authors who are also authorized users of our license agreement (i.e., authors affiliated with the institution).

To fall back on the “this is already covered in an author’s agreement” argument feels possibly deceptive.  I don’t know that their agreements with their authors comply with what we’re asking, and by flatly refusing to agree to the clause, it seems that their agreements probably greatly limit or prohibit an author’s ability to use his/her own work.  Going on a logical assumption alone.

Here’s the clause I’m referencing, from the liblicense model agreement;

Authors’ Own Works. Notwithstanding any terms or conditions to the contrary in any author agreement between authors and [publisher], authors who are Authorized Users of Licensee (“Authors”), whose work (“Work”) is accepted for publication by [publisher] during the Term, shall retain the non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free right to use their Work for scholarly and educational purposes, including self-archiving or depositing the Work in institutional, subject-based, national, or other open repositories or archives (including the author’s own web pages or departmental servers), and to comply with all grant or institutional requirements associated with the Work. For the avoidance of doubt, it is the intent of the parties to this License Agreement that Licensee’s Authors are third party beneficiaries of this provision of the Agreement. Nothing in this section shall eliminate or limit any other rights that Licensee or any Author may have to deposit, host, or make available the Work published by [publisher].

Scholarly and educational purposes encompass teaching, research, and institutional needs, including but not limited to the right to (a) use, reproduce, distribute, perform, and display the Work in connection with teaching, conference presentations, and lectures; (b) make full use of the Work in future research and publications; (c) republish, update or revise the Work in whole or in part for later publication; (d) meet requirements and conditions of research grants or publishing subventions provided by government agencies or non-profit foundations, and; (e) grant to the Author’s employing institution some or all of the foregoing rights, as well as permission to use the Work in connection with administrative activities such as accreditation, mandated reports to state or federal governments, and similar purposes. In all cases, the Author and/or the Author’s employing institution will be expected to provide proper citation to the published version of the Work.

Thoughts?

Thanks for any input!

Lisa

Lisa Mackinder | Head of Acquisitions and Collections Services
Alden Library | Ohio University
740-593-2707 | [log in to unmask]