Legal and ethical aspects of publishing

AORN Journal,  Oct, 2006  by Cynthia Saver

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Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of articles on writing for publication. The first article was published in the March 2006 issue of the Journal.

Just like nursing, publishing has laws and ethical principles that you should know. This article will help you navigate through the maze of publishing codes of conduct, avoid wrong turns into legal problems, and present yourself as a professional. Topics covered include copyright, permissions, redundant publication, plagiarism, and privacy.

Article ownership

When you create something, it is yours--that is the easiest way to describe copyright. More formally, copyright is "a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of 'original works of authorship.'" (1) It is not necessary to file any forms with the government; just creating the work establishes copyright. This legal protection gives the owner of the copyright a number of rights, including the right to make copies and sell the work. In the context of this series, think of "the work" as the article you want to publish.

When your article is accepted for publication, most publishers will require that you sign a form to transfer copyright of the article to the publisher. This standard form, which usually is incorporated into the general author agreement that you sign before publication, almost always covers both print and electronic use of the article. For example, your signature allows AORN to publish your article in the AORN Journal and on the AORN Journal web site. The benefit to you is that your article will receive wider exposure. Copyright ownership also gives AORN the right to use all or part of the article in future publications, such as books, and to authorize others to reprint the article.

Authors are sometimes anxious about transferring copyright, believing it robs them of the ability to publish another article on the same topic. This is not true. Your original ideas belong to you. For example, if you develop expertise in computer-assisted total knee replacement surgery and write an article that appears in the AORN Journal, you can still write on this topic for other journals and magazines, as long as the article is substantially different from the one previously published. Readers of a pain management journal or a consumer women's magazine would not be interested in the same information that concerns perioperative nurses. You would want to tailor your articles to meet the needs of each group of readers.

When you contact a publication about publishing an article, tell the editor you have previously published an article on the same topic and explain how the manuscript you propose to submit will differ from the previous article. The editor may ask you to supply a copy of the previous article so he or she can compare the two.

May I?

Another aspect of copyright dictates that you must obtain permission before reprinting figures, tables, and significant parts of another author's work in your own article. You need to send a request to the copyright owner; many publishing companies have permissions departments specifically for this purpose. Remember, you also must ask permission from the publisher if you have transferred copyright ownership for an article that you wrote and you now want to reprint or distribute something from it.

Check publication information in the journal or book or on the publisher's web site to find out who to contact for reprint permission. Many companies now respond to e-mail requests. You also may want to check with the editor of the journal in which you intend to publish to see if particular wording is required in the permission. For example, the AORN Journal requires permission that is

   valid for all reprint rights
   for print and electronic
   media (including all
   alternative media currently
   in existence [eg,
   Internet, CD-ROM] or
   that may be developed in
   the future) and international
   publication rights
   (including translation).

A reprint permission that is good for one-time use only or that does not grant electronic permission rights would not be accepted because all Journal articles are posted on the AORN Journal web site and also may be distributed in other ways.

Figure 1 presents a sample permission request letter. It can take up to six weeks to obtain permission, so plan ahead. Some journals ask for verification of permission when you submit the article, whereas others allow you to wait until your article has been accepted for publication.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Permission requests usually are granted, but you may be asked to pay a fee to use the material. Fees are the responsibility of the author. Before paying a fee, check with the editor you are publishing with to make sure the item will be used in your article and that the permission wording is adequate.

The copyright owner will provide instructions for how the credit line for the item should read. Be sure to convey this information to your editor and check it yourself when you review the prepublication copy.