About the Journal Publishing Agreement
All authors publishing their research with ICR Publications are required to complete and sign a Journal Publishing Agreement, establishing the terms between the author and ICRP. This agreement grants authors various rights regarding the use of their article, subject to certain conditions, and outlines the transfer of copyright. The copyright may be retained by either the author or ICRP, based on specific factors.
Upon acceptance of their manuscript, authors will receive an email containing a personalized link to complete and sign the Journal Publishing Agreement. This process includes a series of questions to determine the most suitable agreement for the manuscript.
Journal Publishing Agreement Form
Copyright / Open Access Policy
ICRP's journals are dedicated to offering immediate, free, and open access to their scholarly content, grounded in the belief that accessible research enriches the global exchange of knowledge. Accordingly, all articles are freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) 4.0. In line with the Budapest Open Access Initiative's (BOAI) principles, this journal ensures that anyone can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of our articles for any lawful purpose without the need for prior permission from either the publisher or the author.
Copyright, Publication Rights, Licensing, and Repository Policy
- The author(s) retain copyright over their work published by our journal, without restrictions.
- Authors are granted the freedom to retain publishing rights without limitations.
- The legal framework and formal attributes of articles published in our journal adhere to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To this effect, all published articles, including their formats (e.g., PDF), will bear the notation:
- © Year by the author(s). Licensed and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors are empowered to utilize their published articles in any manner they choose, provided they attribute the work to the journal using the specified citation format of the published article.
Repository Policy: Authors are explicitly authorized to deposit any version of their article—be it the author's original version, the accepted manuscript, or the version of the record—on personal websites, institutional repositories, or other non-commercial repositories of their choice. Additionally, the policy extends to commercial platforms and social media, promoting broad dissemination.
Article Version Posting Permissions
Article Version | Personal Website | Institutional or Non-Commercial Repository | Commercial Platforms & Social Media |
Author's Original | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Accepted Manuscript | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Version of Record | ✓ | ✓ |
Understanding copyright and licensing
Copyright licenses detail the rights for publication, distribution, and use of research. ICRP authors must sign a license agreement before publication. Read your chosen journal’s author guidelines for details on the journal’s specific copyright agreement. Failure to sign the license agreement will result in the article being withdrawn from publication.
License Signing Guide
Need help with license signing? Our PDF guide walks you through it.
For subscription articles
For subscription articles, you will either transfer the copyright to ICRP with a Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) or grant ICRP an exclusive license to the copyright with an Exclusive License Agreement (ELA). You will receive the appropriate license agreement in the time between acceptance of your article and final publication online.
For more information about CTA and ELA licenses, view Licensing Info & FAQs.
For open-access articles
For open access articles, you will sign an Open Access Agreement with a Creative Commons license that allows you to keep the copyright.
Learn about licensing and copyright
A signed Author Agreement is required by ICRP for all submitted article types before your article can be published. This policy (i) facilitates, where necessary, protection of the contribution against infringement, libel or plagiarism; (ii) enables efficient processing of licensing and permissions requests so that the contribution be made available to the fullest extent both directly and through intermediaries, as permitted under the Author Agreement; (iii) enables ICRP to maintain the integrity of a contribution once refereed and accepted for publication by facilitating centralized management of all media forms including linking, reference validation and distribution; and (iv) clarifies rights, obligations, and permitted uses.
ICRP has adopted standard Author Agreements, all of which are outlined and linked below. For society-owned journals, the societies for whom we publish decide which versions of the forms they require. Authors may share, distribute, or re-use excerpts and/or the entirety of their articles subject to the terms of the agreement executed. Please refer to the agreement you have signed or are required to sign to review the applicable re-use rights and note that they may differ from the examples below if the journal or copyright holder requires a non-standard form.
In the majority of cases, your article must be accepted first, then you should receive information related to the specific license signing process for the journal to which you have submitted your work, including the contact to whom you should return the signed form (usually through your Author Services dashboard). In most cases, electronic signing is available; in others, authorized representatives of the copyright holders are required to sign or additional information is needed, which requires PDF download and upload. Please do not use any of the agreements listed as an “Example” below because you will be presented with the applicable license after your article is accepted for publication.
If you have co-authors, you must obtain each co-author's consent in writing, authorizing you to agree on their behalf. ICRP provides a template letter, if needed, in which the co-author can acknowledge that they agree to the terms of the agreement you are executing.
Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) and Exclusive License Agreement (ELA)
If you are not publishing your contribution open access, you are required to provide ICRP with either a signed Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) or an Exclusive License Agreement (ELA) before publication of your contribution can be processed.
- CTA Example (PDF)
- ELA Example (PDF)
Please note that ICRP updates standard forms periodically in line with policies and applicable legal developments, and only the most current forms linked here will be used.
The Author or, if applicable, the Author's Employer, retains all proprietary rights other than copyright (or in the case of an ELA, other than exclusive license of copyright), such as patent rights, in any process, procedure or article of manufacture described in the contribution. Authors may re-use unmodified abstracts for any non-commercial purpose. For online use of the abstract, ICRP encourages but does not require linking back to the final published contribution. Authors may use the articles in teaching duties and in other works such as theses. Authors may re-use figures, tables, data sets, artwork, and selected text up to 250 words from their contributions without seeking permission, provided the following conditions are met:
Full and accurate credit must be given to the contribution- Modifications to the figures, tables and data must be noted. Otherwise, no changes may be made
- The reuse may not be made for direct commercial purposes, or for financial consideration to the Author
- Re-use rights shall not be interpreted to permit dual publication in violation of journal ethical practices. Additional re-use rights are outlined in the agreement
Copyright Transfer Agreements (CTA) for Abstracts
The rules regarding abstracts are as follows:
Conference abstracts: We do not require a signed Agreement to publish abstracts of material submitted for poster sessions and presentations at conferences or meetings. The right to publish such material is presumed
Abstracts specifically created for abstract publications: If you have written an abstract of a previously published article for publication in another journal (e.g. a reviews-type journal), we do require you to sign an Agreement
Reproduction of existing abstracts: If you wish to include verbatim abstracts from previously published articles, you do not need written permission from the publisher of those articles, although the source should be cited. Abstracts are covered by copyright and are not in the public domain but there is an exception in UK law which permits the copying and publication of scientific and technical abstracts accompanying published periodical articles.
Copyright Transfer Agreements (CTA) for Translations
Example: You have published an article in Spanish. You have translated the article yourself or by employing a translator and want to submit the English translation to a ICRP journal for re-publication. In order to make the translation, you must first approach the Spanish journal for permission to translate the article for republication. The translation itself would then be held under separate copyright by you or the translator. You would then be able to sign the English journal’s Copyright Transfer Agreement for the translation, rather than the original article. The translation must include a full bibliographic reference to the original publication and you must have obtained permission from the original copyright holder to translate.
Creative Commons Licenses for Open Access Articles
All of ICRP's fully open access journals and most* of ICRP's subscription journals with the open-access option publish open access articles under a Creative Commons license. With Creative Commons licenses, the Author or, if applicable, the Author's Employer retains copyright and the public is allowed to reuse the content in accordance with the Creative Commons license. The copyright owner grants Wiley a license to publish the article and to identify as the original publisher.
Choosing your Creative Commons License
Most* journals in our open access program offer one or more of three license types: CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND. All Creative Commons license types offered by ICRP require the copyright owner (usually the Authors) to be attributed for their work. The license selected by the Author may include rights granted to ICRP in addition to the standard rights granted users under a Creative Commons license, as reflected in the examples linked below.
CC BY - Creative Commons Attribution License
Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, and adapt the article as long as the author is attributed. The CC BY license permits commercial and non-commercial reuse.
CC BY Example
CC BY-NC - Creative Commons Attribution:Non-Commercial License
Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, and adapt the article as long as the author is attributed and the article is not used for commercial purposes.
CC BY-NC Example
CC BY-NC-ND - Creative Commons Attribution: Non-Commercial/No-Derivatives License
Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article as long as the author is attributed, the article is not used for commercial purposes, and the work is not modified or adapted in any way.
CC BY-NC-ND Example
Exceptions
*A limited number of society-owned journals have opted out of this license policy - for more information see our Open Access Without a Creative Commons License page. ICRP will continue to brief societies on any discussions held regarding funder agreements and the processing of the articles, appropriate acknowledgements with citation and linking to the final published version on the publisher's site, and clear licensing terms and conditions for the use of material protected by copyright.
Copyright Ownership
License Signing Guide
Need help with license signing? Our PDF guide walks you through it.
You must sign the agreement and indicate whether you own the copyright in your work, the copyright is owned by your employer, or you are a government employee. If your co-authors have different copyright ownership categories, please see Multiple Ownership. It is essential to check that each agreement has been completed, signed and dated correctly before your contribution can be published.
When signing the agreement, as reflected in the template, you confirm that:
- You have informed your co-authors of the terms of the agreement and obtained their permission in writing to enter into it on their behalf. ICRP provides a template letter, if needed, in which the co-author can acknowledge that they agree to the terms of the agreement you are executing.
- You and each co-author have the full authority to enter into the agreement
- Neither you nor any co-author has granted exclusive rights to, or transferred their copyright in, any version of the Contribution to any third party
- The contribution is your and all co-author's original work
- All individuals who contributed are listed and all authors listed have contributed to the article
- The contribution is submitted only to the specified journal and has not been published before
- You have obtained written permission from the copyright owners to reproduce any material owned by third parties, and that you have included appropriate acknowledgement within the text of your contribution
- The contribution contains no libelous or unlawful statements, does not infringe upon the rights or the privacy of others, and does not contain any material or instructions that might cause harm or injury
- There are no conflicts of interest relating to the article or if there are conflicts, they have been disclosed
- Neither you or any of the co-authors appears on a sanctions list or is in violation of any government and/or international sanctions.
Author Owned Copyright
In most academic and healthcare institutions, faculty own the copyright for articles that they have authored and can sign a standard agreement under “Author-owned work.” Please check whether different policies apply to your institution.
Government Employees
Work carried out by government employees or military personnel may require a statement to the effect that the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the military or government agency for which they work. Please ensure that you check with the appropriate authorities and include the necessary statement within the body of your contribution.
Australian Government and Reserve Bank of Australia
Download the Australian Government License Agreement or the Reserve Bank of Australia License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or sign the standard open access agreement under “Other ownership.”
Canadian Government
Download the Canadian Government License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or sign the standard open access agreement under “Other ownership.”
U.K. Government
The rights in a contribution prepared by an employee of a UK government department, agency or other Crown body as part of his/her official duties, or which is an official government publication, belong to the Crown. An authorized signatory for the government must therefore sign and can use the standard agreement, signing under “U.K. Government work (Crown Copyright).” Authors must ensure they comply with departmental regulations and have the appropriate authorization to publish.
U.S. Government
A contribution prepared by a U.S. federal government employee as part of the employee's official duties, or which is an official U.S. government publication, is called a "U.S. Government work" and is in the public domain in the United States. This does not mean that the article is automatically open access; rather, it means there is no copyright to transfer under U.S. law, though there may be copyright (or other related rights) transferred under the law of other jurisdictions. Therefore, you should sign the standard agreement under “U.S. Government work.” If the contribution was not prepared as part of the employee's duties, is not an official U.S. government publication, or at least one author is not a U.S. government employee, it is not a U.S. Government work. In the case of a contribution prepared under U.S. government contract or grant, the U.S. government may reproduce, without charge, all or portions of the contribution and may authorize others to do so, for official U.S. government purposes only, if the U.S. government contract or grant so requires. If you are employed by an agency that requires a non-standard agreement, please follow the specific instructions below and submit it per the journal's licensing workflow (usually through your Author Services dashboard):
- NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration): Download the NASA Subscription Author Statement if your article is subscription-only, or the NASA OA Author Statement if your article is open access.
- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL; operated by the California Institute of Technology): Download the NASA JPL Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or use the NASA OA Author Statement above
- National Laboratories managed by Battelle Memorial Institute: See Employer Owned Copyright below.
- NIH (National Institutes of Health): Obtain the NIH Publishing Agreement & Manuscript Cover Sheet from the NIH licensing page and submit the signed cover sheet along with a blank copy of the agreement presented to you
- NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)**,
Smithsonian Institution,
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), and
US DoT (United States Department of Transportation):
Obtain a cover sheet from your agency and submit the signed cover sheet along with a blank copy of the agreement presented to you.
** Employees of NIST should include the required agency text in paragraph 6 of the cover sheet - USGS (United States Geological Survey): Download the USGS License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement.
Other
Employees of all other governments can sign a standard agreement under “Other ownership.” If you need further assistance, please contact publications@icrp.org.uk.
Employer Owned Copyright
Where work is carried out by an author in their capacity as an employee of a company, the copyright will be owned by the company. An authorized signatory of the company must therefore sign the agreement under “Company/institution-owned work.” If you are employed by one of the companies below, please follow the specific instructions:
- Amgen: Download the Amgen Addendum (no signature required) and return your signed agreement along with the addendum
- National Laboratories managed by Battelle Memorial Institute: Sign the standard agreement under “Company/institution-owned work” and have an authorized representative from Battelle sign also.
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO) or Non-government Organizations (NGO) Employees
Most Authors can sign a standard agreement under “Other ownership.” If you are employed by an organization that requires a non-standard agreement, please follow the specific instructions below and submit it per the journal's licensing workflow (usually through your Author Services dashboard). If you need further assistance, please contact publications@icrp.org.uk.
- Asian Development Bank (ADB): Download the ADB License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS): Download the BIS License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom): Download the EAEC Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- International Monetary Fund (IMF): Download the IMF Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Download the OECD Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- Pan American Health Organization (PAHO): If your article is subscription-only, obtain a cover sheet from your agency and submit the signed cover sheet along with a blank copy of the agreement presented to you. If your article is open access, download the PAHO OA Agreement
- United Nations University (UNU): Use the standard agreement if your article is subscription-only, or download the UNU OA Agreement if your article is open access
- World Bank: Download the World Bank License Agreement if your article is subscription-only, or use the standard open access agreement
- World Health Organization (WHO): Download the WHO Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or the WHO OA Agreement if your article is open access
- WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): Download the IARC Publication License if your article is subscription-only, or use the WHO OA agreement above
Multiple Ownership
For contributions where there are multiple copyright owners, one author or authorized representative can sign on behalf of co-authors in the same category. The Responsible Corresponding Author needs to download the appropriate forms in coordination with their co-authors and submit them per the journal’s licensing workflow (usually through their Author Services dashboard). For articles with authors employed by multiple government agencies, companies, or organizations, one signature is needed per agency/company/organization – uploading a separate file for each group is acceptable. For example, where there is a government-employed author and a non-government-employed author, each author must sign the appropriate agreement/section.