Handbook

EPrints Handbook
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A Guide to Starting Self-Archiving

Before Depositing Your First EPrint
Logging on for the first time and registering as a new user
Adding an EPrint
Keeping your publication record up to date
Metadata
The importance of accurate records
Behind the Scenes
What happens to an EPrint once you have deposited it?
Editing EPrints
Making corrections, adding published versions

A Guide to Self-Archiving and Open Access

Overview and Glossary
The who, what, where, when and why of self-archiving and open access, plus explanations of the importance of research access and impact.
Objections to Self-Archiving
A discussion of some common worries and prejudices that many academics hold about self-archiving.
Achieving Open Access through Self-Archiving
The Road to Open Access, including the roles of the various stakeholders.

Managing an EPrints Service

Installing an EPrints Server

Self-Archiving and Copyright

Some researchers wrongly identify self-archiving with the kind of copyright infringement that hackers undertake when they distribute copies of CD and videos on the Internet. On the contrary: giving away your own unpaid work via self-archiving is the opposite of consumer-driven theft of others' digitized products using infamous systems like Napster or Gnutella.

Many journals already have official statements which support self-archiving. and among those who do not yet officially support it, many will agree to author self-archiving if the author asks; and for those that still don't, self-archiving the preprint before submission and a "corrigenda" file after acceptance is sufficient, and completely legal.

For a listing of journals' official statements regarding self-archiving, see the ROMEO Project's Publisher copyright policies document.

In general

The copyright for the unrefereed preprint resides entirely with the author before it is submitted for peer-reviewed publication, hence it can be self-archived irrespective of the copyright policy of the journal to which it is eventually submitted.
The copyright for the peer-reviewed postprint will depend on the wording of the copyright agreement which the author signs with the publisher.
Many publishers will allow the peer-reviewed postprint to be self-archived. The copyright transfer agreement will either specify this right explicitly or the author can inquire about it directly. If you are uncertain about the terms of your agreement, refer to the ROMEO table of copyright policies above. Wherever possible, you are advised to modify your copyright agreement so that it does not disallow self-archiving.
In the rare case where a restrictive copyright transfer form explicitly forbids self-archiving the peer-reviewed postprint, you are encouraged to self-archive, alongside your already-archived preprint, a "corrigenda" file, listing the substantive changes the user would need to make in order to turn the unrefereed preprint into the refereed postprint.
Copyright agreements may state that eprints can be archived on your personal homepage. As far as publishers are concerned, an institutional EPrint Archive is a part of the institution's infrastructure for your personal homepage.
Some journals still maintain submission policies which state that a preprint will not be considered for publication if it has been previously 'publicised' by making it accessible online‡. Unlike copyright transfer agreements, such policies are not a matter of law. If you have concerns about submitting an archived paper to a journal which still maintains such a restrictive submission policy, please discuss it with your institution's IPR and Copyright Advisor.