Index Academic Repository respects copyright and other rights applicable to deposited materials. Inclusion of a document in the Repository does not automatically transfer copyright to Index Academic or MultiMedia Publishing.

Authors and depositors must ensure that they have the right to request deposit of the material and that making it available does not infringe the rights of a publisher, institution, co-author, funder, or other third party.

The license and reuse conditions are determined for each material individually, according to its legal status.

1. Rights in the Material

Copyright in a material remains with the author or lawful rights holder unless those rights have been transferred or are governed by another agreement.

Deposit in Index Academic Repository:

  • does not transfer ownership of copyright to the Repository;
  • does not automatically change an existing license;
  • does not cancel the rights of a publisher or other rights holder;
  • does not create a right to distribute a version that may not legally be self-archived.

The depositor must know or verify the legal status of the material before deposit.

2. Right to Deposit

The person depositing the material must have the right to authorize:

  • storage of the file in the Repository;
  • technical reproduction necessary for storage and backup;
  • display of metadata;
  • making the file publicly available, where permitted;
  • preservation and, where necessary, technical migration of the file to other formats.

This right may arise from:

  • authorship and retention of the necessary rights;
  • an open license;
  • the publisher’s self-archiving policy;
  • a contractual agreement;
  • express permission from the rights holder;
  • public domain status;
  • another applicable legal basis.

3. Deposit License Granted to the Repository

By accepting the deposit, the depositor grants Index Academic Repository a non-exclusive license to host, preserve, and make the material available within the limits of the rights declared.

This permission allows the Repository, where applicable, to:

  • store the material;
  • create backup copies;
  • display the file and metadata;
  • distribute the material in accordance with the applicable license;
  • make technical modifications necessary for preservation without altering the intellectual content;
  • maintain identifiers, links, and version information.

The license granted to the Repository is non-exclusive. The author or rights holder retains the right to use, publish, distribute, or license the material elsewhere, within the limits of the rights they hold.

4. License for Repository Users

The license granted to the Repository must not be confused with the license granted to the public.

For each document, the applicable reuse license should be indicated where possible.

This license determines what users may do with the material: copy, distribute, adapt, use commercially, or otherwise reuse it.

The Repository does not assume that all materials are published under the same license.

5. Creative Commons Licenses

Where the author or rights holder is free to choose a license, Creative Commons licenses may be used.

Possible options include:

  • CC BY 4.0 – Attribution
    Permits distribution, adaptation, and reuse, including commercial reuse, with appropriate attribution.
  • CC BY-SA 4.0 – Attribution-ShareAlike
    Permits reuse and adaptation with attribution and requires derivative works to be distributed under the same license.
  • CC BY-NC 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial
    Permits reuse and adaptation for non-commercial purposes with attribution.
  • CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
    Permits non-commercial reuse with attribution and requires derivative works to use the same license.
  • CC BY-ND 4.0 – Attribution-NoDerivatives
    Permits redistribution, including commercial redistribution, but not distribution of modified versions.
  • CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
    Permits non-commercial redistribution of the unchanged material with attribution.

A license should be selected only by a person who has the legal authority to grant those permissions.

6. CC0 and Public Domain

For certain materials, especially some datasets or resources where the rights holder wishes to waive copyright restrictions to the greatest extent legally possible, the CC0 1.0 Universal tool may be used where legally appropriate.

Materials that are genuinely in the public domain may be identified accordingly in the metadata.

The Repository will not identify a material as public domain without a sufficient basis for doing so.

7. All Rights Reserved

Where a document is not published under a Creative Commons or other open license, it may be marked:

All rights reserved

In this case, the fact that the material may be viewed or downloaded from the Repository does not automatically grant users the right to redistribute, modify, or reuse it for other purposes.

Use is permitted only:

  • within the limits provided by law;
  • with permission from the rights holder;
  • or in accordance with other applicable legal conditions.

The Repository may provide public access to a copyrighted document without thereby making it openly licensed.

8. Previously Published Materials

For previously published works, the depositor must verify who holds the rights and which version may be deposited.

Depending on the publisher’s policy, deposit may be permitted for:

  • the Preprint;
  • the Accepted Author Manuscript (AAM);
  • the Version of Record (VoR);
  • or only the metadata and a link to the original publication.

The fact that an author retains certain rights in the text does not automatically mean that the publisher’s final PDF may be redistributed.

9. Original Publisher Policy

For previously published materials, the depositor is responsible for verifying the publisher’s policy regarding:

  • self-archiving;
  • permitted version;
  • embargo period;
  • locations where the material may be deposited;
  • required citation wording or acknowledgements;
  • permitted license;
  • any other reuse conditions.

If the publisher’s policy is unclear, Index Academic may request evidence or additional information before publishing the file.

10. Embargo

Some publishers allow deposit of a manuscript version only after an embargo period.

In such cases, the Repository may:

  • publish the metadata immediately;
  • keep the file under restricted access;
  • indicate the date when public access may begin;
  • open access after the embargo expires, provided all other conditions are met.

The embargo does not alter the DOI or bibliographic identity of the work.

11. Works with Multiple Authors

For works with multiple authors, the person making the deposit must ensure that they have the right to act on behalf of the authors where required.

The depositor must correctly identify all authors and avoid selecting a license that exceeds the rights they hold.

If rights are jointly held and there is uncertainty regarding authorization for deposit, the Repository may request confirmation from the other rights holders.

12. Third-Party Materials

A document may contain:

  • images;
  • photographs;
  • maps;
  • graphs;
  • tables;
  • text excerpts;
  • assessment tools;
  • datasets;
  • other materials over which the author does not hold all rights.

The inclusion of such material in a document licensed under Creative Commons does not automatically mean that the third-party material is covered by the same license.

The depositor must:

  • obtain the necessary permissions;
  • indicate the source;
  • clearly mark materials excluded from the general license;
  • comply with conditions imposed by the rights holder.

13. Material License and Metadata License

The license applying to the document and the legal status of the metadata may differ.

Bibliographic metadata may be used for:

  • indexing;
  • discovery;
  • interoperability;
  • citation;
  • export to academic services;
  • aggregation in databases and catalogues.

Index Academic may permit broad reuse of metadata to facilitate academic discovery without changing the license of the underlying document.

14. DOI and Copyright

Assignment of a DOI does not change copyright and does not grant users additional rights in the document.

A DOI is a persistent identifier, not a license.

Likewise, assignment of a DOI:

  • does not transfer copyright;
  • does not mean peer review;
  • does not certify scientific quality;
  • does not transform a protected document into Open Access material.

The license and legal status must be indicated separately.

15. Open Access and Copyright

Index Academic Repository supports Open Access, but Open Access is not equivalent to the absence of copyright.

An Open Access material may still be protected by copyright.

The specific conditions of reuse are determined by the license indicated for the document.

Users should therefore consult the license information before reusing material.

16. Choosing a License

Where the depositor holds all necessary rights, they may select an available license for the material.

Before choosing a license, the depositor should verify:

  • whether rights have previously been transferred;
  • whether the work has already been published;
  • whether obligations exist toward a publisher;
  • whether there are co-authors;
  • whether the material contains third-party content;
  • whether funder or institutional requirements apply.

A Creative Commons license, once validly granted and applied to a version distributed publicly, should not be treated as a temporary permission that can later be arbitrarily withdrawn from copies already provided under that license.

17. Changing the License

Requests to change a license after publication are assessed individually.

Index Academic may update license information for future uses where there is a legitimate reason, but a later change cannot automatically revoke rights already lawfully granted to users under an earlier license.

Where a licensing error has occurred, access to the material may be temporarily restricted until the matter is clarified.

18. Copyright Infringement

If a rights holder believes that material available in Index Academic Repository infringes their rights, they may request that the matter be reviewed.

The request should allow identification of:

  • the disputed material;
  • the right being asserted;
  • the person or entity holding the right;
  • the reason why the deposit is considered unauthorized;
  • contact details necessary for clarification.

Where a credible complaint is received, the Repository may temporarily restrict access to the material while the matter is reviewed.

If the infringement is confirmed, the file may be withdrawn or access may be modified in accordance with the Repository policy and applicable legal obligations.

19. Withdrawal and Rights Status

Withdrawal of a document from the Repository does not automatically terminate all rights or licenses previously granted.

In particular, copies of material already lawfully distributed under a Creative Commons license may continue to be used under the terms of that license.

The bibliographic record may be retained where necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record or maintain persistent identifiers.

20. Depositor Responsibility

By depositing a material, the depositor confirms, to the best of their knowledge, that:

  • they have the right to request deposit;
  • the copyright information provided is accurate;
  • the selected license is compatible with the rights they hold;
  • co-authors’ rights have been respected;
  • necessary permissions for third-party materials have been obtained;
  • the original publisher’s conditions have been respected;
  • any relevant embargo has been declared;
  • the material does not unlawfully infringe the rights of others.

Index Academic may request clarification or evidence where the legal status of a material is uncertain.

21. Responsibility of Index Academic Repository

Index Academic Repository aims to respect the rights of authors, publishers, and other rights holders and to provide clear information about the legal status of each material.

The Repository may:

  • correct license information;
  • temporarily restrict access;
  • request evidence of rights;
  • reject a material;
  • withdraw a file where infringement is confirmed;
  • retain metadata where necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Acceptance of a material does not constitute a legal guarantee by Index Academic concerning all rights associated with it.

22. Recommended Information for Each Record

For clarity, I would display on the page of each Repository item at least:

Copyright: © [year] [author/rights holder], where applicable
License: [CC BY 4.0 / CC BY-NC 4.0 / All rights reserved etc.] Document version: [Preprint / AAM / Version of Record / Other] Original publication: [where applicable] DOI: [original DOI or DOI assigned to the document] Deposit rights: [Author-held rights / Publisher policy / Permission / Other]

 

[Deposit Guidelines]
[Repository Policy]
[DOI Policy]