Copyright and Licensing Policy

Emergent Life Sciences Research (ELSR) is an open access journal committed to the wide dissemination, accessibility, and responsible reuse of published scientific research.

ELSR follows an author-retained copyright model.

Authors retain copyright in their published work. By publishing an article in ELSR, the authors grant the journal, published by Emergent Research Publications (ERP), a non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, archive, index, and identify itself as the original publisher of the article.

All articles published in ELSR are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

 

1. Copyright Ownership

Authors retain copyright in articles published in ELSR.

Copyright is not transferred to ELSR or Emergent Research Publications as a condition of publication.

The author-retained copyright model allows authors to maintain ownership of their scholarly work while permitting ELSR to publish and disseminate the final article.

Where copyright is owned by an institution, employer, government body, or another legal entity under applicable law or contractual arrangements, the authors are responsible for informing the Editorial Office and ensuring that appropriate authorization for publication has been obtained.

 

2. Non-Exclusive Publishing Rights Granted to ELSR

By publishing in ELSR, the authors grant Emergent Life Sciences Research, published by Emergent Research Publications (ERP), a non-exclusive right to publish the article.

This non-exclusive right allows ELSR and ERP to:

• Publish the article.
• Produce and make available the final published version.
• Distribute the article.
• Archive and preserve the article.
• Index and provide article metadata.
• Register and maintain relevant publication metadata.
• Assign or register a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), where applicable.
• Make the article available through the journal website and appropriate scholarly systems.
• Permit discovery through indexing, abstracting, library, repository, and research-information services.
• Identify ELSR as the original publisher of the article.

These rights are non-exclusive.

Authors continue to retain copyright and may exercise their rights in accordance with the applicable Creative Commons license and other relevant legal obligations.

 

3. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

All articles published in ELSR are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

The official license information is available through Creative Commons CC BY 4.0.

Under CC BY 4.0, users may share and adapt licensed material, including for commercial purposes, provided the applicable license conditions are followed.

Appropriate attribution must be provided, a link to the license should be included, and changes should be indicated where modifications have been made.

The CC BY 4.0 license supports the broad dissemination and reuse of scientific research while preserving attribution to the original authors and source.

 

4. Attribution Requirements

Individuals or organizations reusing ELSR content under CC BY 4.0 should provide appropriate attribution.

Attribution should normally identify, where reasonably possible:

• The author or authors.
• The title of the article.
• Emergent Life Sciences Research (ELSR) as the original publication source.
• The DOI or appropriate article link.
• The CC BY 4.0 license.
• Whether changes were made to the original material.

Attribution should not suggest that the authors, ELSR, the Editors, Editorial Board, or Publisher endorse the reuse, adaptation, organization, product, or individual making use of the content unless specific authorization has been provided.

 

5. Sharing and Redistribution

Articles published in ELSR may be copied and redistributed in any medium or format in accordance with CC BY 4.0.

Published articles may be shared through:

• Institutional repositories.
• Subject repositories.
• Personal or professional websites.
• Academic networking platforms.
• Teaching and educational systems.
• Research databases.
• Scholarly communication platforms.
• Other appropriate distribution channels.

Users should maintain appropriate attribution to the original article.

Where possible, the DOI or link to the final published version should be included.

 

6. Adaptation and Reuse

ELSR articles may be adapted, transformed, translated, or built upon in accordance with CC BY 4.0.

Examples of reuse may include:

• Translation.
• Educational adaptation.
• Inclusion in teaching material.
• Reuse in reviews or scholarly analyses.
• Data or text-based scholarly reuse where legally and ethically appropriate.
• Preparation of derivative or adapted material.
• Commercial reuse.

Where changes are made, the modified nature of the material should be indicated.

Adapted material should not be presented in a manner that falsely represents the views, findings, or conclusions of the original authors.

 

7. Commercial Reuse

CC BY 4.0 permits commercial reuse of licensed material subject to the conditions of the license.

ELSR does not apply an additional non-commercial restriction to articles published under CC BY 4.0.

Commercial reuse must maintain appropriate attribution and comply with the applicable license conditions.

The permission for commercial reuse does not imply endorsement by the authors, ELSR, the Editorial Board, or Emergent Research Publications.

 

8. Author Rights After Publication

Because authors retain copyright, authors may reuse and share their published work in accordance with the CC BY 4.0 license and applicable legal obligations.

Authors may, for example:

• Share the published article.
• Deposit the published article in an institutional or subject repository.
• Use the article in teaching or academic presentations.
• Include appropriate material in a thesis or dissertation.
• Reuse content in future scholarly work with appropriate citation and disclosure.
• Provide copies to students or research colleagues.
• Link to the final published article from personal or institutional webpages.

Authors should appropriately cite the original ELSR publication when reusing published material.

Where the article has been modified or adapted, the nature of the changes should be made clear where required by the license.

 

9. Repository Deposit and Self-Archiving

ELSR supports author self-archiving and repository deposit.

Authors may deposit the final published article in:

• Institutional repositories.
• Subject-specific repositories.
• Funder-designated repositories.
• Other appropriate scholarly repositories.

No embargo period is normally imposed by ELSR on the deposit of the final published article.

Authors are encouraged to include the article DOI and identify ELSR as the original publication source.

Repository deposits should preserve the article's license information where reasonably possible.

 

10. Preprints

Authors may submit manuscripts that have previously been posted on recognized non-commercial preprint servers, subject to the ELSR Preprint Policy.

Posting a preprint does not transfer copyright to ELSR.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the terms of the preprint platform do not prevent publication under the ELSR copyright and licensing model.

After publication in ELSR, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with the DOI or link to the final published article.

The final ELSR-published version is the version of record.

 

11. Version of Record

The final article published by ELSR is the Version of Record.

The Version of Record represents the article that has completed the journal's editorial, peer-review, acceptance, and publication process.

ELSR may maintain, archive, distribute, and identify the Version of Record as the official published article.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, retractions, or other post-publication notices may be linked to the Version of Record where necessary.

Post-publication changes are handled according to the ELSR Corrections & Retractions Policy.

 

12. Third-Party Copyrighted Material

The CC BY 4.0 license applied to an ELSR article does not automatically apply to third-party material included in the article where different copyright or licensing terms are indicated.

Third-party material may include:

• Figures.
• Tables.
• Photographs.
• Illustrations.
• Maps.
• Questionnaires.
• Scales.
• Copyrighted datasets.
• Other previously published material.

Authors are responsible for identifying third-party material and obtaining permission where required.

The source and applicable copyright or licensing information should be clearly acknowledged.

If third-party material is excluded from the article's CC BY 4.0 license, this should be indicated through an appropriate credit line or other notice.

Users wishing to reuse excluded third-party material are responsible for obtaining permission from the relevant copyright holder where required.

 

13. Author Responsibility for Permissions

Authors are responsible for ensuring that material included in their manuscript may legally be published by ELSR.

Before publication, authors should obtain appropriate permission for copyrighted material where permission is required.

Authors should provide evidence of permission to the Editorial Office when requested.

Permission should normally cover the intended open access publication and electronic distribution of the material.

ELSR may request the removal or replacement of material when appropriate permission cannot be demonstrated.

Acceptance of a manuscript does not remove the authors' responsibility for copyright compliance.

 

14. Material Created by the Authors

Original figures, tables, illustrations, and other material created by the authors as part of the article are normally included under the article's CC BY 4.0 license, subject to applicable copyright ownership arrangements.

Authors should ensure that material presented as their own original work does not contain undisclosed third-party copyright content.

Where material has been adapted from another source, the original source should be appropriately acknowledged and permission obtained where required.

 

15. Data, Software, and Supplementary Material

The copyright or licensing status of research data, software, code, and supplementary material may depend on the nature of the material, repository requirements, applicable law, and any separate license identified by the authors.

Where a separate license applies, it should be clearly indicated.

The CC BY 4.0 license applied to the article should not be interpreted as overriding a clearly identified separate license applicable to data, software, or third-party material.

Authors are encouraged to use appropriate and transparent licensing arrangements for research outputs.

Research data requirements are described in the ELSR Research Data Policy.

 

16. Trademarks, Logos, and Journal Identity

The CC BY 4.0 license applicable to published articles does not automatically grant permission to use ELSR or ERP trademarks, logos, journal branding, or other protected identifiers in a manner that suggests official endorsement, sponsorship, partnership, or authorization.

The names and logos of Emergent Life Sciences Research (ELSR) and Emergent Research Publications (ERP) should not be used to falsely imply endorsement of a third-party product, service, organization, or activity.

Reuse of article content under CC BY 4.0 is separate from authorization to use journal or publisher branding.

 

17. Moral Rights and Author Identification

Nothing in the ELSR copyright and licensing model is intended to remove the authors' right to be appropriately identified as the creators of their scholarly work where such rights are recognized by applicable law.

Users of ELSR content should preserve appropriate attribution.

Material should not be reused in a misleading manner that falsely attributes modified statements, conclusions, or interpretations to the original authors.

 

18. Copyright Infringement Concerns

ELSR takes reasonable concerns regarding copyright infringement seriously.

Authors, copyright holders, or other individuals may contact the Editorial Office when they believe that material published by ELSR infringes copyright or has been used without appropriate authorization.

A concern should, where possible, identify:

• The ELSR article concerned.
• The material in question.
• The original source or claimed copyrighted work.
• The basis of the copyright concern.
• Relevant supporting information.

ELSR may request additional documentation before taking editorial action.

 

19. Assessment of Copyright Concerns

When a copyright concern is raised, the Editorial Office may:

• Review the published or submitted material.
• Request clarification from the authors.
• Request evidence of permission.
• Examine relevant credit lines or license information.
• Contact a copyright holder or other relevant party where appropriate.
• Seek appropriate specialist or legal information when necessary.

The journal may temporarily suspend publication of accepted material while a significant copyright concern is examined.

ELSR does not normally determine complex legal ownership disputes independently when such matters require institutional or legal determination.

 

20. Editorial Action Relating to Copyright Concerns

Depending on the nature and seriousness of a copyright or licensing concern, ELSR may:

• Request clarification.
• Request appropriate attribution.
• Request evidence of permission.
• Require replacement or removal of material.
• Delay publication.
• Reject a manuscript.
• Publish a correction.
• Add an appropriate licensing or credit notice.
• Take post-publication action where necessary.

Where a copyright concern materially affects the integrity or lawful publication of an article, further action may be taken under the ELSR Publication Ethics Policy and ELSR Corrections & Retractions Policy.

 

21. Author Copyright & License Agreement

The ELSR Author Copyright & License Agreement (ELSR-FRM-001) is required only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Authors should not submit this form during initial manuscript submission.

Following editorial acceptance, the Editorial Office will request the completed and signed agreement from the corresponding author.

The agreement confirms the applicable copyright and licensing arrangements for publication.

The corresponding author may sign on behalf of all authors only when appropriately authorized to do so.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all co-authors understand and agree to the publication and licensing terms.

This acceptance-stage workflow is the same as the process already established in the final ELSR Guide for Authors.

 

22. Licensing Information on Published Articles

ELSR should clearly display the applicable licensing information with published articles.

The published article or article webpage should identify:

• The copyright status.
• The applicable CC BY 4.0 license.
• The original publication source.
• The article DOI or publication information.

Where appropriate, the Creative Commons license name, license notice, or license icon may be displayed.

Third-party material subject to different licensing conditions should be identified separately where necessary.

 

23. No Additional Restrictions on CC BY 4.0 Reuse

ELSR does not impose additional legal or technological restrictions that would prevent users from exercising rights granted under CC BY 4.0.

Users remain responsible for complying with the conditions of the license and with other applicable rights.

The CC BY 4.0 license does not remove obligations relating to:

• Privacy.
• Confidentiality.
• Data protection.
• Personality or publicity rights.
• Patents.
• Trademarks.
• Third-party copyright.
• Other rights not covered by the license.

 

24. Copyright and Licensing Policy Oversight

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Office are responsible for overseeing the implementation of this Copyright & Licensing Policy.

ELSR may review and update its copyright and licensing procedures when necessary to reflect developments in open access publishing, scholarly communication, or applicable licensing practices.

Any update to this policy should remain consistent with the licensing information applied to published articles and the publication agreements in effect at the relevant time.

Authors and users of ELSR content are expected to comply with the applicable copyright and licensing conditions.