As the author of the work, the researcher is the first copyright owner of the research output. There is no system of copyright registration in Malta but copyright is conferred automatically to all eligible works listed in the Copyright Act, Chapter 415 of the Laws of Malta.
The researcher must be aware of copyright obligations when signing contract agreements with publishers, and must ensure the retention of their copyright. The UM highly recommends publishing with publishers who support Open Access, whether opting for Green Open Access or Gold Open Access.
The UM is committed to provide support with regards to copyright. Please refer to the Copyright Guidelines. You can also get advice from the Legal Office. The Library’s Open Science Team is also ready to help with clarifying any copyright issues.
Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Their copyright licences provide a simple, standardised way to give the public permission to share and use creative work on conditions of the creator’s choice. The UM’s Policy requires the use of the Creative Commons Licences. The specific type of licence can be selected directly by the author. For research funded by the EU, publications are to be made available under the CC-BY licence.
It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that publications uploaded in OAR@UM do not infringe the rights of the publisher or any other party.
By depositing your work under a CC-BY licence, you are allowing third parties to distribute, remix and build upon your publication, even in a commercial setting. However, this does not affect your moral rights in any way. You are still the owner of your work and whoever uses it MUST attribute you in any resulting works. To ensure that your work is used properly, each item deposited in OAR@UM includes a disclaimer instructing potential users to credit your work.
Primarily, this should be stipulated in the agreement you have signed with the respective publisher. Another way to obtain this information is by checking the publisher’s copyright and editorial policies against the SHERPA/RoMEO database. Additionally, very often this information is specified on the publisher’s or journal’s website. You can also contact the publisher directly to obtain this information. If you have not signed your publication agreement yet, the UM Library strongly recommends you to discover the publisher’s terms and conditions with regards to Open Access prior signing the agreement.
In case the journal or publisher does not support Open Access, the following strategy should be applied:
Yes, such papers should be deposited in OAR@UM. However, the access will be restricted in order to honour the embargo period. Once the embargo elapses, the publication will be automatically made available in Open Access.
No, however, each publication must always be referenced and the author must be properly acknowledged when used.
In case the publisher’s archiving policy allows for a self-deposit of the research paper in an Open Access repository only under specific conditions, you may use one of the following supported options: