Author Rights in JSOMER

Purpose

The JSOMER is committed to protecting authors’ intellectual property rights while supporting immediate open access, responsible scholarly sharing, proper attribution, and long-term accessibility.

This policy explains:

  • copyright ownership;
  • the nonexclusive rights granted to JSOMER;
  • the Creative Commons license applied to published articles;
  • authors’ rights to share, archive, and reuse their work;
  • preprint and repository rights;
  • reuse in future scholarly works;
  • third-party materials;
  • author confirmation during submission and production; and
  • authors’ rights and responsibilities after publication.

Questions concerning authorship eligibility, author order, contributorship, corresponding authorship, accountability, and authorship changes are governed by the journal’s Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

  1. Copyright Ownership

Authors retain the copyright to their articles published in JSOMER.

JSOMER does not require authors to transfer copyright to the journal, publisher, Editor-in-Chief, or any other individual or organization.

Authors retain copyright without granting JSOMER exclusive ownership or exclusive publishing rights. Copyright remains with the authors or, where applicable, another lawful copyright holder identified before publication.

The standard copyright notice for published articles is:

Copyright © [year] The Author(s)

Where copyright belongs lawfully to an employer, institution, government, or another rights holder, the copyright notice may be modified accordingly.

  1. Rights Granted to JSOMER

By submitting a manuscript and approving its publication, the authors grant JSOMER the nonexclusive rights necessary to:

  • publish the article for the first time;
  • identify JSOMER as the original publisher;
  • edit and format the article for publication without changing its scholarly meaning;
  • reproduce and distribute the published article;
  • make the article immediately and permanently available online;
  • assign, register, and maintain a Digital Object Identifier;
  • create and distribute article-level bibliographic metadata;
  • submit the article and its metadata to indexing, abstracting, discovery, archiving, preservation, and research-information services;
  • preserve the article in current or future technical formats;
  • prepare accessible and machine-readable versions where appropriate;
  • include the article in journal issues, archives, thematic collections, and scholarly databases;
  • link the article to corrections, retractions, Expressions of Concern, or other post-publication notices; and
  • take reasonable action to protect the integrity of the published scholarly record.

These rights are nonexclusive. Granting them to JSOMER does not prevent authors from exercising their copyright or using, sharing, and reusing their work in accordance with this policy.

  1. No Copyright Transfer or Separate Publishing Contract

JSOMER does not require authors to sign:

  • a copyright transfer agreement;
  • an exclusive publishing agreement;
  • a separate licensing contract;
  • a printed authorization form;
  • a digitally signed publication contract; or
  • any other standalone document transferring ownership of the article.

Authors are not required to print, sign, scan, upload, or mail a separate publication agreement.

The journal records the authors’ approval through the ordinary OJS submission and publication workflow.

The authors’ initial submission declarations and the corresponding author’s approval of the final proof constitute the journal’s documented confirmation that:

  • all authors approve the submission and publication of the article;
  • the corresponding author is authorized to communicate with the journal on behalf of all authors;
  • the authors retain copyright;
  • JSOMER receives the nonexclusive rights necessary to publish, distribute, preserve, index, and maintain the article;
  • the article may be published under the license displayed in the final version; and
  • the journal’s applicable editorial and publication policies are accepted.

These electronic confirmations are retained within the journal’s manuscript management and editorial records.

  1. Author Confirmation at Initial Submission

As part of the initial submission process, the submitting or corresponding author is required to confirm through the OJS submission checklist that:

  • the manuscript is original;
  • the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
  • any permitted prior dissemination has been disclosed;
  • all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript;
  • all authors have approved submission to JSOMER;
  • authorship and author order are accurate;
  • the corresponding author is authorized to communicate with the journal on behalf of all authors;
  • all required ethical approvals and informed consent procedures have been completed;
  • relevant conflicts of interest and funding relationships have been disclosed;
  • data availability and artificial intelligence disclosures are accurate;
  • third-party material has been used with appropriate permission, license, attribution, or lawful exception;
  • the submission complies with the journal’s policies; and
  • the authors understand that accepted articles are published under JSOMER’s stated copyright and licensing terms.

Authors should not submit a manuscript until all authors have reviewed and accepted these conditions.

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating material editorial developments, revisions, proofs, and publication information to all co-authors.

  1. Final Proof and Publication Approval

After acceptance and production preparation, the corresponding author receives the article proof for final review.

The corresponding author must confirm that:

  • all authors have reviewed or have had an appropriate opportunity to review the final article;
  • all authors approve publication;
  • author names and author order are accurate;
  • institutional affiliations are accurate;
  • the corresponding author information is correct;
  • funding and conflict-of-interest statements are complete;
  • ethics and informed consent statements are accurate;
  • the Data Availability Statement is accurate;
  • acknowledgments are complete;
  • copyright and licensing information is correct;
  • tables, figures, references, and supplementary materials are presented appropriately; and
  • the final article accurately represents the work approved by the authors.

The corresponding author’s approval of the final proof on behalf of all authors constitutes final authorization for publication.

JSOMER does not require a separate signed contract after proof approval.

The following confirmation may be used during the proof stage:

On behalf of all authors, I approve this proof for publication. I confirm that all authors have reviewed and approved the final article, that the author names, order, affiliations, disclosures, copyright notice, and licensing information are accurate, and that I am authorized to provide this approval on behalf of all authors.

Proof approval is intended primarily to confirm the accuracy of the production-ready article. Major changes to the accepted manuscript are not normally permitted at this stage.

  1. Publication License

Unless a published article clearly states otherwise, JSOMER articles are distributed under the:

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Under this license, readers may copy and redistribute the published article in any medium or format, provided that:

  • appropriate credit is given to the authors;
  • the original publication in JSOMER is acknowledged;
  • a link to the Creative Commons license is provided;
  • the use is not primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary compensation; and
  • modified, adapted, remixed, or transformed versions are not distributed without separate permission.

The license does not permit users to imply that the authors or JSOMER endorse a particular use, organization, product, interpretation, or activity.

  1. Relationship Between Copyright and the License

The Creative Commons license governs how readers and other third parties may use the published article. It does not transfer copyright ownership from the authors to JSOMER.

Because authors retain copyright and grant JSOMER only nonexclusive publishing rights, authors remain free to use, reuse, reproduce, share, translate, and adapt their own work, subject to:

  • the rights of co-authors;
  • the rights attached to third-party material;
  • applicable ethical and legal requirements;
  • acknowledgment of the original JSOMER publication;
  • transparency concerning later adaptations or republications; and
  • policies concerning duplicate or redundant publication.

The NoDerivatives condition restricts third parties from distributing modified versions under the Creative Commons license. It does not prevent copyright-owning authors from preparing later works based on their own articles.

  1. Authors’ Rights to Share Their Work

Authors may share their work through:

  • personal academic websites;
  • institutional repositories;
  • disciplinary repositories;
  • funder-designated repositories;
  • nonprofit scholarly networks;
  • research information systems;
  • course-management systems;
  • educational platforms;
  • academic presentations; and
  • other noncommercial scholarly channels.

JSOMER does not impose an embargo on author self-archiving.

When sharing the final published version, authors should:

  • provide the complete JSOMER citation;
  • include the DOI;
  • link to the official article page;
  • preserve the copyright and license information;
  • preserve any correction, retraction, or other post-publication status information; and
  • avoid presenting a modified file as the version of record.

Authors do not need separate permission from JSOMER to share their articles in accordance with this policy.

  1. Preprints

Authors may post a manuscript as a preprint before submission to JSOMER or while the manuscript is under consideration, provided that:

  • the preprint is disclosed during submission;
  • the preprint is identified accurately;
  • the manuscript is not presented as peer-reviewed or accepted before an editorial decision;
  • posting does not violate participant privacy, confidentiality, copyright, contractual obligations, or applicable law; and
  • material differences between the preprint and submitted manuscript are disclosed where relevant.

Posting a preprint does not, by itself, constitute prior publication for JSOMER.

After publication, authors should update the preprint record by adding:

  • the complete citation;
  • the DOI;
  • a link to the version of record; and
  • a statement indicating that the article has been published in JSOMER.
  1. Accepted Manuscripts

Authors may deposit the accepted manuscript in a personal, institutional, disciplinary, or funder-designated repository without an embargo.

The accepted manuscript is the version that has completed peer review and has been accepted for publication but has not yet undergone final copyediting, layout, or production.

The deposited accepted manuscript should contain a statement such as:

This manuscript has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Social Media Research. The final published version is available at: [DOI or article URL].

Once the article has been published, authors should update the repository record with the final citation and DOI.

The accepted manuscript must not be presented as the final version of record.

  1. Version of Record

The version of record is the final article formally published by JSOMER after peer review, editorial approval, copyediting, production, and author proof approval.

Authors may deposit and share the version of record without an embargo.

When sharing the version of record, authors should preserve:

  • article title;
  • author names;
  • journal title;
  • volume and issue information;
  • page range or article number;
  • DOI;
  • copyright notice;
  • Creative Commons license; and
  • links or notices concerning subsequent corrections or post-publication actions.

The version of record must not be modified in a way that could mislead readers concerning the content formally published by JSOMER.

  1. Reuse in Future Scholarly Works

Authors may reuse all or part of their JSOMER article in later works, including:

  • books;
  • book chapters;
  • edited collections;
  • theses and dissertations;
  • conference presentations;
  • posters;
  • lectures;
  • course materials;
  • research reports;
  • policy documents;
  • professional portfolios;
  • translations;
  • extended studies; and
  • later scholarly syntheses.

Separate permission from JSOMER is not required because authors retain copyright.

Authors must:

  • acknowledge the original publication in JSOMER;
  • provide the full citation and DOI;
  • disclose that later material is based on, adapted from, or reproduces the published article;
  • avoid presenting substantially identical content as a completely new publication;
  • comply with policies concerning duplicate and redundant publication; and
  • obtain permission for third-party content not owned by the authors.

Substantial republication or translation should be disclosed to the editor or publisher of the later work.

  1. Use in Theses and Dissertations

Authors may include their JSOMER articles in a thesis or dissertation without requesting permission from the journal.

The thesis or dissertation should:

  • acknowledge that the article was first published in JSOMER;
  • provide the complete citation and DOI;
  • identify whether the included text is the submitted, accepted, or published version;
  • preserve copyright and license information when the version of record is reproduced; and
  • comply with relevant institutional requirements.

Where an article has multiple authors, the author using the article in a thesis or dissertation must respect the rights of co-authors and describe individual contributions accurately.

  1. Translations and Adaptations

Third parties may not distribute a translation, adaptation, abridgment, or other modified version of an article under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 without separate authorization.

Authors who retain copyright may translate or adapt their own work. Authors should:

  • acknowledge the original JSOMER publication;
  • provide the original citation and DOI;
  • identify the later version as a translation or adaptation;
  • avoid presenting it as an entirely independent original publication;
  • obtain co-author agreement where required;
  • comply with applicable duplicate-publication and secondary-publication standards; and
  • secure rights for third-party material.

Authors planning formal republication, translation, or substantial adaptation are encouraged to notify JSOMER so that the relationship between the works can be documented accurately.

  1. Commercial Reuse

The CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license does not authorize third parties to use a published article primarily for commercial advantage or monetary compensation.

A third party wishing to make commercial use of an article must obtain permission from the copyright holder. Because authors retain copyright, such requests are normally determined by the authors.

Permission from JSOMER may also be necessary when the proposed use involves:

  • the journal’s name or logo;
  • publisher-owned cover or layout materials;
  • the journal website or compilation;
  • an implication of journal endorsement; or
  • material for which JSOMER holds separate rights.
  1. Third-Party Materials

Authors are responsible for ensuring that they have the right to include third-party material in their manuscripts.

Third-party material may include:

  • figures;
  • tables;
  • photographs;
  • screenshots;
  • scales and instruments;
  • questionnaires;
  • maps;
  • illustrations;
  • datasets;
  • software or code;
  • audio or video material;
  • substantial text extracts; and
  • social media content.

Authors must:

  • determine whether permission is necessary;
  • obtain written permission where required;
  • comply with the original license or terms of use;
  • provide accurate attribution;
  • disclose any limitations on reuse; and
  • retain documentation of permission.

Material not covered by the article’s Creative Commons license must be identified clearly in the caption, credit line, note, or relevant section.

  1. Funder and Institutional Requirements

Authors are responsible for informing JSOMER of relevant funder, employer, governmental, or institutional requirements that may affect:

  • copyright ownership;
  • licensing;
  • repository deposit;
  • public access;
  • rights-retention statements;
  • manuscript versions; or
  • publication acknowledgments.

Where a funder or institution requires a license different from the journal’s standard license, the author must notify JSOMER before publication so that compatibility can be evaluated.

Any approved exception must be displayed clearly on the published article.

  1. Changes After Publication

Authors retain the right and responsibility to report material errors or concerns after publication.

Copyright ownership does not give authors the unilateral right to:

  • alter the version of record;
  • replace published files;
  • remove an article from the journal;
  • change authorship;
  • withdraw reliable findings for reputational reasons; or
  • prevent an appropriate correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction.

Changes to the version of record are governed by the journal’s Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy.

Authors are normally informed of proposed post-publication action and given an opportunity to respond. Author agreement is not required when an editorial action is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

  1. Rights Following Retraction

Retraction does not normally transfer copyright ownership or erase the article’s publication history.

A retracted article generally remains accessible and is clearly marked as retracted. The retraction notice is linked to the original article.

Authors must not distribute a retracted article without clearly disclosing its retracted status.

  1. No Author Fees or Rights-Based Charges

JSOMER does not charge authors:

  • submission fees;
  • article processing charges;
  • publication fees;
  • page charges;
  • copyright-retention fees;
  • Creative Commons licensing fees;
  • self-archiving fees;
  • repository-deposit fees;
  • proof-approval fees; or
  • withdrawal fees.

Author rights are not dependent on payment.

No payment influences manuscript assessment, peer review, acceptance, publication scheduling, licensing, or the exercise of the rights described in this policy.

  1. Relationship with Other Policies

This policy should be read together with:

  • Authorship and Contributorship Policy
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Note for Contributors
  • Open Access and Archiving Policy
  • Research Data and Reproducibility Policy
  • Research Integrity Policy
  • Plagiarism Policy
  • Artificial Intelligence Policy
  • Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy
  • Price Policy

This Author Rights Policy governs copyright ownership and authors’ rights to share and reuse their work.

The Authorship and Contributorship Policy governs authorship eligibility, author order, contributions, accountability, and authorship changes.

The Open Access and Archiving Policy governs reader access, repository practices, preservation, and long-term accessibility.

The Creative Commons license governs third-party reuse of the published article.

Contact

Questions concerning copyright, author reuse, licensing, self-archiving, permissions, repository deposit, or proof approval should be directed to:

JSOMER Editorial Office
Email: editor@jsomer.org