New ACS Journal Publishing Agreement expands author rights and clarifies responsibilities

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2010 — The American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Publications Division will begin rolling out a new publishing agreement in mid-October that expands author rights and clarifies author responsibilities. The ACS Journal Publishing Agreement (JPA) is a result of ACS’ ongoing efforts to provide the best possible publishing experience for authors of ACS’ suite of 38 peer-reviewed journals, including its flagship Journal of the American Chemical Society. That experience includes efficient online manuscript submission; rapid, responsible peer review and publication; global distribution; the award-winning ACS Web Editions Platform; and now, extended author use rights.

The JPA replaces the previous ACS Copyright Status Form. It gives ACS authors a number of new rights regarding the use of their manuscripts and outlines certain behaviors that are expected of ACS authors.

There are several key differences between the new JPA and the old ACS Copyright Status Form:

• The new agreement specifically addresses what authors can do with the different versions of their manuscript — e.g. use in theses and collections, teaching and training, conference presentations, sharing with colleagues, and posting on websites and repositories. The terms under which these uses can occur are clearly identified to prevent misunderstandings that could jeopardize final publication of a manuscript.
• The new agreement clarifies that the transfer of copyright in Supporting Information is nonexclusive. Authors may use or authorize the use of Supporting Information in which they hold copyright for any purpose and in any format.
• The new agreement extends key terms of use to an author’s previously published work with ACS — as long as the same conditions of use are met.
• Behaviors expected of ACS authors are more fully addressed throughout the agreement.

The JPA shines a spotlight on two current ACS programs. The first is ACS AuthorChoice, which provides authors or their funding agencies the opportunity to sponsor immediate, unrestricted online access to their final published article. The other is ACS Articles on Request, which permits convenient, free distribution of journal article reprints online via author-directed links provided to the author when their article is published online.

The JPA is a direct result of the extensive review and consultation process undertaken by a task force consisting of ACS journal authors, editors, librarians, governance members, and legal counsel who identified activities in which today’s authors typically engage, or would like to engage. The JPA incorporates the task force’s recommendations and more clearly communicates ACS Publications’ policies regarding the use of submitted, accepted and published works.

###