Authors (or in some cases, their institutions) hold copyright in the work they produce. When a research manuscript is accepted for publication, the author is deemed to have entered into an agreement with the publisher. A traditional publishing agreement often restricts the immediate sharing and reuse of the work in open access because it entails either the transfer of copyright or the assignment of rights from the author (or the institution) to the publisher. Rights Retention and a Secondary Publishing Right are two ways to address this issue, and support open access and open science.

'Rights Retention and Secondary Publishing Rights. An EIFL Guide for Libraries' aims to raise awareness about the issues of Rights Retention and Secondary Publishing Rights. Jointly produced by the EIFL Open Programme and the EIFL Copyright and Libraries Programme, the guide sets out the principles and benefits of Rights Retention and Secondary Publishing Rights, and explains how to achieve rights retention and secondary publishing rights. The guide also includes a list of useful resources for those seeking further information.

You can download the guide by clicking the download button, or view it online here with additional resources and FAQs.

The guide was launched at an EIFL webinar in June 2024. See the webinar recording and slides.