Copyright, open access & reuse

1 Purpose & scope

Who this policy applies to and what it covers.

This policy applies to all journals hosted on the IUMS platform and to all versions of an article – including preprints, accepted manuscripts (AAMs) and the Version of Record (VoR) – unless a specific journal announces stricter rules in its own author guidelines.

It explains:

• who typically owns copyright in IUMS-published work;
• how open access and subscription models are implemented;
• which Creative Commons licences are used and what they allow;
• how authors and third parties may reuse different article versions;
• how self-archiving and repository deposit work; and
• how we support text-and-data mining (TDM), AI tools and indexing services through clear, machine-readable licensing metadata.

This page is about copyright, licences and reuse. For questions about research ethics, consent, privacy or misconduct, please refer to our dedicated policies.

2 Publishing models at IUMS

Open access, hybrid and subscription routes across the IUMS portfolio.

IUMS journals operate under three broad access models:

• Fully open access (OA) journals – all research articles are immediately free to read online, typically under a Creative Commons licence. Article Processing Charges (APCs) or institutional/funder agreements may support the costs of publication.
• Hybrid journals – the journal is primarily subscription-based, but authors may choose an OA option for individual articles under a Creative Commons licence.
• Subscription journals – articles are accessible via institutional or personal subscriptions, pay-per-view, or delayed open-access policies; authors usually sign a copyright transfer or exclusive licence to publish while retaining broad scholarly reuse rights.

Each journal’s “About” or “Author guidelines” page describes the specific model(s) available, any APCs or waivers, and which Creative Commons licences can be selected for open access articles.

3 Copyright ownership

Who usually holds copyright in articles published on the IUMS platform.

IUMS supports models in which authors retain meaningful rights in their work while enabling effective publication, dissemination and preservation. In general:

• For open access articles published under a Creative Commons licence, copyright normally remains with the author(s) or their employer. The author grants IUMS a licence to publish, distribute and promote the article.
• For subscription or hybrid articles, the journal or affiliated society may require either a copyright transfer or an exclusive licence to publish. In these cases, authors retain extensive scholarly reuse rights, which are spelled out in the publishing agreement.
• For works created in the course of employment by governments, inter- governmental organisations (IGOs) or other special regimes, the copyright line and licence will reflect that status (for example, “US Government work in the public domain” or “© Crown”, where applicable).

The exact terms are set out in the licence-to-publish or copyright transfer form that authors sign at acceptance. Authors should read that document carefully and keep a copy for their records.

4 Creative Commons & open access licences

Licence options for IUMS open access articles and what they permit.

Open access articles in IUMS journals are typically published under one of the following Creative Commons (CC) licences, which provide a recognised, standardised way to grant reuse rights while requiring proper attribution:

• CC BY – allows others to share and adapt the work for any purpose, including commercial use, provided the original article is credited and licence terms are respected.
• CC BY-NC – permits sharing and adaptation for non-commercial purposes with attribution. Commercial reuse normally requires separate permission.
• CC BY-NC-ND – allows non-commercial redistribution with attribution but does not allow derivative or adapted works without prior permission.

Each open access article clearly displays the selected licence on the HTML page and PDF, together with a link to the licence text and a standard attribution statement. Where required, journals may offer IGO-adapted Creative Commons licences for authors employed by inter-governmental organisations.

5 Author rights & scholarly reuse

What authors can do with their own work after publication.

Regardless of the publication model, IUMS aims to give authors clear, predictable rights to reuse and build upon their work. Unless a specific journal states otherwise, authors may:

• use their article (or parts of it) in teaching, course packs, conference slides and clinical education, with appropriate citation;
• incorporate the article into a thesis or dissertation, provided the final citation to the published version is included;
• reuse their own figures, tables and limited text in future scholarly works, books or review articles, with a clear acknowledgement of the original publication; and
• share the article privately with colleagues for non-commercial research and discussion.

Additional rights depend on whether the article is open access and which licence applies. For example, under CC BY authors and others may create derivative works and commercial products, while under CC BY-NC-ND commercial reuse and derivatives require explicit permission.

6 Access & reuse by readers and third parties

How others may read, share and build on IUMS-published work.

For open access articles, anyone may read and download the VoR from the journal website without subscription. The precise reuse rights depend on the Creative Commons licence chosen:

• under CC BY, readers may redistribute, translate, adapt and build upon the work, including for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the original article and indicate any changes;
• under CC BY-NC, similar uses are allowed for non-commercial purposes only; and
• under CC BY-NC-ND, readers may share the unmodified work non-commercially with attribution.

For subscription content, reading access is limited to users with legitimate access (for example, via institutional subscriptions). Third-party reuse of the VoR – such as reproducing figures, translating material or using extensive extracts – normally requires permission unless an applicable legal exception or licence states otherwise.

7 Self-archiving (Green OA) & sharing

Where authors can deposit preprints, accepted manuscripts and VoRs.

IUMS recognises the importance of repositories and author websites in widening access to research. Unless a specific journal policy states otherwise:

• Preprints (manuscripts before peer review) may usually be posted anywhere at any time – for example in recognised preprint servers – provided that authors disclose that the work has not yet been peer-reviewed and, once available, link from the preprint to the published VoR.
• For subscription or hybrid articles, the accepted manuscript (AAM) may generally be deposited in non-commercial institutional or funder repositories after any embargo period stated in the journal’s author guidelines. The AAM should link to the VoR and include any required notice about the journal and publisher.
• For open access articles published under a Creative Commons licence, authors and institutions may typically deposit the VoR in repositories immediately, in line with the licence terms.

Embargo lengths, permitted versions and any required wording are set out in each journal’s author guidelines. Where funder mandates are stricter than journal defaults, the funder requirement takes precedence (see Section 13).

8 Text-and-data mining (TDM) & AI training

How TDM, machine learning and AI systems may use IUMS content.

IUMS supports responsible text-and-data mining that respects copyright, licences and privacy. In general:

• Open access articles under CC BY may be mined and used for both non-commercial and commercial TDM and model training, provided that the article is properly cited and licence terms are followed.
• Under CC BY-NC and CC BY-NC-ND, TDM for strictly non-commercial purposes is usually permitted; commercial mining, or generating derivative products from NC/ND content, will normally require a separate agreement.
• For subscription content, non-commercial TDM may be possible where users have lawful access and applicable local TDM exceptions, but commercial TDM or large-scale harvesting requires a licence or explicit permission from IUMS.

To support compliant TDM, we work towards providing:

• stable full-text URLs or APIs for machine access, where feasible;
• machine-readable licence metadata, including which versions are covered; and
• clear signalling on whether an article is open access and under which Creative Commons licence.

For guidance on the use of generative AI tools in manuscripts and peer review, please see our dedicated Generative AI & digital tools policy.

9 Third-party content & permissions

Using material in your article that you did not create yourself.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material included in their manuscript – such as previously published figures, tables, images, questionnaires, scales or substantial text extracts – is used in line with copyright and licence terms.

As a general rule, authors should:

• avoid including third-party material that is more extensive than necessary for the scientific argument;
• prefer material published under compatible open licences (for example, CC BY) or in the public domain, with proper attribution; and
• obtain written permission when reusing material that is not covered by a suitable licence or legal exception, ensuring that the permission allows publication in the chosen IUMS journal and, where applicable, under the relevant Creative Commons licence.

Requests to reuse IUMS-published material that is not already covered by a Creative Commons licence should be sent to journals@iums.ac.ir with full citation details, a description of the material, the intended new use, the audience and whether the use is commercial.

10 Special cases (government, IGOs & society-owned journals)

When standard licences do not fully apply.

Some articles are subject to legal or contractual frameworks that require non-standard wording or licences. IUMS journals recognise, for example:

• Government works where local law places some or all of the work in the public domain, or requires specific notices;
• Inter-governmental organisations (IGOs) that require adapted Creative Commons licences or particular wording to reflect privileges and immunities; and
• Society-owned journals hosted on the IUMS platform that maintain their own, sometimes more specific, copyright and licensing arrangements.

In such cases, the copyright line and licensing statement on the article page and PDF will clearly indicate the applicable regime and how the work may be reused.

11 Licensing line & machine-readable metadata

How we communicate rights information to humans and machines.

Every Version of Record on the IUMS platform is accompanied by clear, article-level rights information. Typically, VoR HTML pages and PDFs display:

• a copyright line indicating the owner (for example, “© The Author(s)”, “© IUMS” or a society);
• the selected Creative Commons licence for open access articles, with a badge and a link to the licence text; and
• a statement about how the article may be reused or shared, consistent with this policy.

In addition, we strive to deposit machine-readable licence metadata (for example via Crossref and similar services), including:

• which version the licence applies to (VoR, AAM);
• the start date of any embargo; and
• stable full-text URLs or landing pages that text-and-data mining tools can reference.

Clear, consistent rights metadata improves discoverability, supports TDM and helps indexers, repositories and libraries to interpret reuse permissions correctly.

12 Indexing, discovery & archival commitments

Supporting Web of Science, Scopus and other discovery services.

To support inclusion and ongoing coverage in major indexing and discovery databases, IUMS journals work to provide:

• persistent DOIs for all VoRs and clear identification of the version of record;
• consistent indication of open access status and licence terms at the article level;
• public, permanently accessible notices for corrections, retractions, withdrawals and other post-publication updates; and
• links between versions (for example, preprints, AAMs and VoRs) where relevant.

Where appropriate, we also participate in digital preservation and archiving programmes so that content remains accessible and citable even if platforms change over time.

13 Funder & institutional mandates

Aligning with open access and licensing requirements from funders.

Many research funders and institutions now require that articles arising from funded projects:

• be made open access within a defined timeframe;
• be deposited in specified repositories; and/or
• carry a particular Creative Commons licence (often CC BY).

IUMS encourages authors to check their funder or institutional policies at the time of submission and to select an open access route and licence compatible with those mandates. Editorial offices can advise on the options available within each journal, including APC waivers and discounts or repository-deposit services where relevant.

Where a funder licence requirement conflicts with a journal’s default options, authors should contact the journal as early as possible so that a compliant route can be identified if feasible.

14 At-a-glance rights by model & licence

Summary table – for full details, always read the relevant sections above.

15 Contact & support

Who to contact with questions about rights, reuse or licensing.

For questions or requests related to this policy, please use:

•  journals@iums.ac.ir

Policy version: v1.1 – last updated April 2025. This page will be revised periodically to reflect developments in copyright law, open access policies and indexing requirements.