Negotiating Author-Friendly Publication Agreements

Addenda contain fixed language in prescribed sections. Although they are formal legal documents, you do not have to use them exactly the way they appear.

• You can use the addendum in full as it exists without any changes
• You can use an addendum and strike out language that is problematic for you
• You can use language from an addendum without using the actual document

The important thing to remember is that addenda give you options and legal language which work in your favor but you can use them however you wish.

The SPARC Author Addendum to Publication Agreement :

• Reserves author's right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, modify and authorize non-commercial uses by others.
• Establishes prior non-exclusive licenses such as to funder or institution (e.g., under a faculty OA policy)  
• Requires publisher to provide PDF or similar format of final article without technical restrictions

The Scholar’s Copyright Addendum Engine is essentially a build-your-own addendum generator. It offers 3 options:

1. Delayed access (six month delay)
2. Immediate access
3. Access-reuse option (the publisher makes the published version available to author within 2 weeks)

They also offer a generic version of the original MIT amendment.

All of the models:

• retain non-exclusive rights to distribute, copy, modify, perform and display in connection with author’s scholarly work
• give the author access to the final published version of the article
• acknowledge a possible prior grant of nonexclusive rights for funder or institutional open access policies