[Open-access] Risks in using an Addendum

[Mike Taylor]

I can only offer more anecdotal evidence: I've never heard even a
rumour of a journal either cancelling or delaying publication due to
an author's use of an addendum. AT WORST they will just refuse to
accept the addendum.

Meanwhile, I recommend a simpler solution: just place your manuscript
in the public domain. This will put it on the same footing as works
produced by the US Federal Government, e.g. palaeontologists working
for the Bureau of Land Management. Then when the journal asks for
copyright transfer, you can simply and honestly reply that there is no
copyright to transfer, but that give enthusiastic permission to
publish.

-- Mike.




On 11 December 2013 13:38, Steven Bhardwaj <sbhard at bu.edu> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> I suspect the following question may seem frustrating, but it may become an
> important talking point in our Open Access advocacy work at Boston
> University.
>
> We are advocating for an opt-out OA policy, as described here. A practical
> question has come up, and I am trying to improve our response to it. I think
> that if we had a stronger response to this question, it might ease the
> bureaucratic process greatly.
>
> Question:
>
> Consider a young Assistant Professor, "Professor Priya," who just got an
> article accepted by a prestigious toll-access journal. She receives the
> publishing contract in an email, and it restricts Green Open Access rather
> strictly.
>
> Earnestly complying with her university's new opt-out policy, Priya signs
> the contract with an Author's Addendum, and sends it in.
>
> Should Priya be concerned about including this addendum? Is there a risk
> that her inclusion of the addendum will delay the article's publication, or
> even cause the journal's acceptance of the article to be canceled? Or, can
> she rest assured that the publisher will reply back in a timely fashion,
> allowing her to get the article published.
>
> She is willing to agree to a reasonable embargo period, and even to opt-out
> of some of the authors' rights reserved under the opt-out policy. But she
> doesn't want to miss this opportunity to get this article published. The
> tenure-track review board is meeting next month!
>
>
> My institutional librarians have assured me that "Professor Priya" has
> nothing to worry about. However, I am left with few advocacy tools other
> than their anecdotal assurances. I would love to remove this nebulous worry
> from the pro/con balance of an opt-out policy here at BU.
>
> What kind of harder evidence could help assure the faculty that the addendum
> will certainly not affect Priya's already-accepted article being published
> in a timely fashion? A survey of institutional librarians? A survey of
> publishers? A survey of journal editors?
>
> Thanks much for your time and consideration of this query.
>
> Sincerely,
> -Steven Bhardwaj
> sbhard at bu.edu
> Economics PhD Candidate
> Boston University for Open Access
> buoa.blogspot.com
>
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