The principles of the rights retention policy
- UiB has a non-exclusive right to make all scholarly articles authored by employees and students affiliated with UiB available under the terms of a Creative Commons license.
- Employees and students may request a waiver of the policy for a particular article. The waiver request does not need to be explained.
- UiB will make the scholarly articles openly available in the national repository. For articles that are published open access under a Creative Commons license, the published version will be made available with the license it is published under. For articles that are not published open access, the author accepted manuscript will be made available by default with a Creative Commons Attribution – CC BY license.
- The Rector is responsible for interpreting this policy and resolving disputes concerning its interpretation and application.
The rights retention policy applies to scholarly articles submitted after 1 December 2022.
Frequently asked questions about the rights retention policy
Questions and answers about practical implications of the policy.
Which publications are covered?
The rights retention policy covers only scholarly articles, not books, book chapters or other types of publications.
Which version of the article can be made open access?
It is the author's accepted manuscript (AAM, postprint) that can be made available under the policy. This is the final version the author sends to the journal after peer review is complete, but before the publisher's formatting, copy-editing and typesetting.
How do I request a waiver?
Fill in the waiver form before you upload the article to NVA. When granted a waiver from the policy, the accepted manuscript will be made available in accordance with the publisher's terms.
Can I choose which Creative Commons license is used?
Yes. Although the default license is CC BY, you are free to choose a different Creative Commons license when you upload the article to NVA.
Does the policy apply to articles with co-authors from other institutions?
Yes. The policy covers all articles where staff and students from UiB are authors. You must inform co-authors from other institutions that UiB will make the article openly available immediately, by default under a CC BY licence. If co-authors object to this, you can request a waiver from the policy or ask for a different licence to be used when the article is made available.
Do I have to inform publishers about the rights retention policy when I submit a manuscript?
No. You have no duty to inform the publisher about the rights retention policy. UiB has published information about the policy on its website and considers this to be public and accessible information.
What if the journal refuses to publish an article because of UiB's rights retention policy?
You can request a waiver from the policy for the article in question. Alternatively, you can check with the journal whether the accepted manuscript can be made available after an embargo period and without a Creative Commons licence, or with a licence other than CC BY.
What are the consequences of signing a publishing agreement that conflicts with UiB's rights retention policy?
While a publisher may require you to sign a publishing agreement that transfers the copyright to the publisher, UiB’s prior right to make the article open access will take precedence. If a dispute should arise, please contact nva@uib.no
What should I do if the article contains third-party material?
If the article contains material you do not hold the copyright to, such as figures, images or similar, you must do one of the following:
- Obtain permission to make the material available under a CC BY licence.
- Clearly mark in the manuscript which rights apply to the material and that the CC BY licence does not cover it.
- Make the manuscript available without the third-party material by removing it from the manuscript before uploading to NVA.
- Choose a different CC licence, or no CC licence, when uploading the manuscript to NVA.