When you publish research, you don’t have to give up all your rights to the publisher. Rights retention means keeping the legal ability to share, reuse, and build upon your own work, often through a Creative Commons (CC) license. These licenses let others use your work under certain conditions, while ensuring that you remain the copyright holder.
The goal is simple: you decide how open your work is, not the publisher.
Why it matters now
Open access policies from funders and universities are accelerating. In the rush of submission portals and copyright forms, it’s easy to sign away more than you intended. A simple rights-retention approach, such as adding a rights statement to your submission and selecting a CC licence keeps your accepted manuscript shareable (e.g., in a repository), lets you use it in teaching, and supports future publications or derivative works.
The Creative Commons Spectrum
CC BY (Attribution): Others may copy, share, remix, and build on your work, including for commercial use so long as they give you credit.
CC BY-ND (Attribution–NoDerivatives): Your work can be redistributed, commercially or non-commercially provided it’s passed along unchanged and in full, with proper credit.
CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike ): People can remix and adapt your work for non-commercial purposes. They must credit you and release any adaptations under the same licence.
CC BY-SA (Attribution–ShareAlike): Remix, adaptation, and commercial reuse are allowed with attribution, and any derivative must carry the same licence. This “share-alike” model powers Wikipedia and suits projects that want improvements to remain open.
CC BY-NC (Attribution–NonCommercial): Non-commercial remixing and adaptation are allowed with credit. Derivatives don’t have to use the same licence, but they must remain non-commercial.
CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives): The most restrictive core CC licence: others may download and share your work with credit, but no changes or commercial use are permitted.
The CC “Three-Layer” Design
Legal Code: Each CC licence is a full legal instrument written in lawyer-friendly language, the binding text that governs use.
Human-Readable Summary (Commons Deed): Because most creators aren’t lawyers, CC also provides a plain-language summary that highlights the key permissions and conditions. It’s an easy reference, not a substitute for the Legal Code.
Machine-Readable Layer: To help software and search engines recognise and index licence terms, CC publishes a structured, machine-readable expression of each licence using the CC Rights Expression Language (CC REL). This enables tools and platforms to detect how a work can be reused.
How to Keep Your Rights
Read the publishing agreement carefully. Check whether you’re transferring copyright or granting a license to the publisher.
Use a Rights Retention Statement. Some funders, like cOAlition S, recommend including a statement asserting your right to share your accepted manuscript under a CC BY license.
Deposit your work in a repository. Self-archiving ensures long-term access and compliance with open access mandates.
Consult your institution or library. Many universities have model agreements or legal support to help you negotiate publishing terms.
What You Don’t Lose
Copyright ownership: You remain the legal owner, even when publishing OA. The CC license simply grants permissions to others under your conditions.
Scholarly integrity: CC licensing doesn’t compromise peer review or credibility. It just clarifies reuse rights.
Future opportunities: Retaining rights lets you reuse figures, data, or text in future publications, teaching, or derivative works without seeking permission.
Myths vs facts
Myth: “CC BY means I lose control.” Fact: You remain the copyright holder; others must credit you. CC BY simply clarifies reuse with attribution.
Myth: “Rights retention only applies to OA journals.” Fact: You can retain rights when publishing in subscription journals by depositing your accepted manuscript and using an author addendum or rights statement.
Myth: “Creative Commons is risky or unclear.” Fact: CC licences are standardised and globally recognised. They reduce ambiguity by stating exactly what’s allowedade-off fits your goals.
CC BY (Attribution): Others may copy, share, remix, and build on your work, including for commercial use so long as they give you credit.
