Copyright and Permissions
Copyright Transfer
OSA asks all authors of articles for its journals, magazines, and books to sign a Transfer of Copyright. In doing so, an author transfers ownership of his or her article or book to OSA. Ownership of copyright gives OSA the right to publish the article and to defend against improper use (or even theft) of the article. It also permits OSA to mount the article online or to use the article in other forms, such as when a journal article becomes a chapter in an OSA-published book.
OSA needs copyright for an article because, as publisher, the society is in the best position to defend the article legally. In addition, transfer of copyright assures OSA that the work in question is entirely the author's own. Once again, the purpose of transfer of copyright is not to prevent the author from free publication of his or her own work, as long as this doesn't involve republication in a competing journal.
If you are planning to send a manuscript to one of OSA’s peer-reviewed journals, you will be given the opportunity during submission to agree to our electronic transfer of copyright. You should print and send a hard copy of the below Transfer of Copyright form only if you are unwilling or unable to use the online option.
Author Posting Policy
Transfer of copyright does not prevent an author from subsequently reproducing his or her article. OSA's Copyright Transfer Agreement gives authors the right to publish the article or chapter in a compilation of the author's own works or reproduce the article for teaching purposes on a short-term basis. The author may also publish the article on his or her own noncommercial web page ("noncommercial" pages are defined here as those not charging for admission to the site or for downloading of material while on the site).
If the author chooses to publish the article on his or her own noncommercial website, the following message must be displayed at some prominent place near the article and must include a working hyperlink to OSA's journals website:
This paper was published in [Journal Name] and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: [article URL]. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.
NIH Public Access Policy
The NIH Public Access Policy (http://publicaccess.nih.gov/) states that peer-reviewed manuscripts that received NIH funding and are accepted for publication in a journal on or after April 7, 2008, should be deposited with PubMed Central within 12 months of publication. OSA acknowledges the NIH policy and the author's right to place eligible OSA journal articles in PubMed Central.
- How do I comply? Authors who are required to do so may submit the accepted version of their manuscript to PubMed Central through the NIH Manuscript Submission System. Authors should select method "C" as explained on the NIH Public Access information page.
- What about copyright transfer? OSA's current Copyright Transfer Agreement in no way precludes deposit of OSA journal articles to PubMed Central (see http://www.opticsinfobase.org/submit/forms/copyxfer.pdf). Note that copyright to all material deposited in PubMed Central remains with the publisher or individual authors, whichever is applicable.
- How will OSA assist? As a service to authors, OSA intends to submit eligible articles to PubMed Central directly starting in late 2010.
URLs for Early Posting and Final Articles
The following syntax can be used to create URLs to OSA articles. The URL is also displayed on the abstract page of any published article.
- Final Version: Append journal code, volume, issue, and final page number to the following base URL:
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=JOSAA-19-1-24See InfoBase Help for details. - Early Posting Version: Append the ADS manuscript ID number (which appears on every Early Posting article) to the following base URL:
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?msid=73530See the Early Posting FAQ for details.
One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.
Permissions
For OSA to consider a copyright permission request we require in writing by fax, mail, or e-mail:
- a complete citation of the item to be reproduced, including figure numbers, etc.,
- a clear explanation of the intended use of the item, and
- the requestor's complete contact information.
Please direct further questions regarding copyright to copyright@osa.org.
