When your paper is accepted, the journal sends an agreement and asks you to sign it. Most authors click through without reading, then discover later that they cannot post their own paper on a repository, reuse a figure in a thesis or share the PDF with a colleague. This guide explains the main agreement types, what each one lets you do and the questions to ask before you sign.
Why this agreement matters
The agreement decides who controls your paper after publication. It affects your thesis, your institutional repository, your funder’s rules and your ability to reuse your own work in later papers. It is also one of the few parts of publishing that is easy to get right if you spend ten minutes on it and very hard to fix afterwards.
The three common models
1. Copyright transfer. You assign copyright to the publisher. The publisher then controls reuse, and you keep only the rights the agreement lists. These usually include using the paper in your own teaching, in your thesis and in later work by you, but the exact wording differs by publisher.
2. Exclusive license to publish. You keep copyright but give the publisher the sole right to publish and distribute the paper. Your reuse rights depend on the wording, and many publishers allow thesis use and repository posting of the accepted version.
3. Open access with a Creative Commons license. You usually keep copyright, and readers can reuse the paper under the license you choose or the journal assigns.
Creative Commons licenses in plain words
| License | What others can do |
|---|---|
| CC BY | Share and adapt, including commercially, with credit to you |
| CC BY-NC | Share and adapt for non-commercial use, with credit |
| CC BY-ND | Share but not change, with credit |
| CC BY-NC-ND | Share only, non-commercial, no changes, with credit |
CC BY gives the widest reuse, which is why many funders and institutions prefer it. CC BY-NC-ND is the most restrictive of the common options. If you are unsure what open access means in practice, start with our open access journal guide.
Know your three versions of the paper
- Submitted version: the manuscript you first sent.
- Accepted version: the peer-reviewed text after your revisions, before the publisher’s formatting.
- Published version: the final typeset article with the journal’s layout and logo.
Publishers often let authors post the accepted version in an institutional repository after an embargo period, while the published PDF stays restricted unless the article is open access. Policies differ, so check the journal’s policy page, or look it up on the Sherpa Romeo database, before you upload anything to a repository or a social sharing site.
What you can usually do under each model
Under copyright transfer, expect limited rights. Most publishers still allow you to use the article in your thesis, share it with colleagues for personal use and reuse your own figures with a credit line, but you may need written permission for anything else. Under an exclusive license, you have more room, though the publisher still controls commercial distribution. Under CC BY, anyone may reuse the work with credit, so you need not ask for permission and neither does the reader.
When you need permission for a figure, write to the publisher’s permissions desk. Most handle simple thesis requests quickly, and many give permission automatically through an online form.
Open access is not always free for authors
Gold open access journals usually charge an article processing charge. That fee is separate from the license you choose, and it varies widely by publisher and journal. Read our explainer on Scopus journal publication fees to understand what the charge covers and when it is payable. You should also see whether you can publish in Scopus without paying a fee through subscription journals or other routes.
Funder and university requirements
Some funders require the accepted version to be deposited in a repository within a set period, or require a specific license such as CC BY. Some universities have similar rules for theses and research outputs. Check these before you choose a journal, because a journal whose agreement conflicts with your funder’s rules can create trouble after acceptance.
Watch for red flags
Some low-quality publishers ask for full copyright, hide their license terms or announce fees only after acceptance. Others publish a paper and then make it difficult to withdraw. Before you sign anything, confirm the journal is genuine. Our guide on peer reviewed vs predatory journals lists the warning signs, including vague editorial boards, fake indexing claims and pressure to pay quickly.
Questions to ask before signing
- Who will hold the copyright after publication?
- Can I reuse my figures, tables and text in my thesis?
- Can I post the accepted version in a repository, and when?
- Is there a fee, and when is it payable?
- Does my funder or university require a particular license?
- Can I reuse parts of this paper in future papers by me?
A short example
An author signs a copyright transfer without reading it. A year later the university asks for the paper in its repository, and the publisher’s policy allows only the accepted version after twelve months. If the author had checked the policy first, they could have chosen a journal with a shorter embargo or an open access option. The check takes ten minutes and prevents months of delay.
Final advice
Read the agreement once, note your answers to the questions above and keep a copy of the signed form. If something is unclear, ask the editorial office before you sign. For the wider journey from submission to acceptance, see our A to Z guide on how to publish a research paper in India.