Copyright and Research Online

Information for UOW authors

1. Aims of UOW Research Online

UOW is committed to advancing the visibility and dissemination of UOW research publications globally. To achieve this, Research Online (RO) is the platform for making UOW research outputs discoverable online. RO provides detailed information about the research publications produced by the University, including:

  • Affiliation of authors
  • Citations and links to definitive publisher versions of publications, including DOIs where available, to enable researchers to read and cite the final publisher version
  • Availability of full text versions of the publication within the repository where this is supported by publisher copyright permissions and/or the copyright holder

2. Copyright permissions

Copyright obligations for all material which is made publicly available in the repository is cleared by the University Library:

SHERPA RoMEO

The Library refers to authoritative sources and indexes of publisher permissions to determine copyright compliance of publications for archiving in Research Online:

SHERPA/RoMEO is a highly-reputed database of publisher copyright policies and permissions for self-archiving that is administered by the University of Nottingham, UK, and funded by Jisc (formerly known as JISC, the Joint Information Systems Committee, UK; Jisc provides leadership and support to educational organisations in developing information and digital technology services and initiatives).

Publisher agreements

Through consortial negotiations (for example, by representation through the Council of Australian University Librarians - CAUL), agreement for the deposit of material into Research Online may be in place between UOW and some publishers.

Seeking permission directly from the publisher.

The Library will contact journal and book publishers directly to seek permission to archive a publication in RO in the following instances:

  • If a publisher’s policy specifies that institutional repositories must seek permission from them for archiving final manuscript or publisher versions of a publication within the repository.
  • At the request of a UOW author.

3. What should I provide to the Library to ensure copyright compliance?

UOW authors should provide the Library with a copy of the final manuscript of their publication to ensure it is made available in RO. Email final manuscripts to or submit your publication via online form.

Information on publication versions

Peer reviewed research outputs usually go through three phases leading to publication:

  1. Initial submission by author of manuscript to publisher
  2. Resubmission of manuscript by author after incorporating reviewer's comments
  3. Final published version made available in publication

The final manuscript is the version that has been accepted for publication and has incorporated reviewer’s comments as identified in phase 2. The final manuscript differs from the publisher version (phase 3) in that the publisher version includes publisher additions such as formatting, logos and copy editing, and is the version of record for the publication as published on the journal website. Most publishers will allow authors to put the final manuscript version of their publication into their institutional repository.

The table below shows the range of similar terms used by prominent organisations and publishers:

OrganisationPre-printFinal manuscriptPublisher version
SHERPAAuthor's pre-printAuthor's post-printPublisher's version/PDF
IEEEAuthor-submitted manuscriptAccepted manuscriptFinal published version
ARC Author's versionPublisher's version
ElsevierPreprintAccepted author manuscriptPublished journal article
Springer Author created versionPublisher's PDF version
Taylor and FrancisAuthor original manuscriptAuthor accepted manuscriptVersion of record
SageVersion 1Version 2Version 3
NatureAuthor's versionAuthor's versionFinal published version
WileySubmitted versionAccepted version/Author's accepted manuscriptFinal published version
Cambridge UPPre-printAuthor’s versionPublisher's version/PDF

If the publisher allows neither the final manuscript nor the publisher version in the repository, the Library will provide a citation and link to the definitive published version.

4. Copyright ownership

When an author writes a book, chapter, or article, the copyright of that work is owned by the author. When publishing a work, such as through a journal or book, some publishers request the author to sign a copyright transfer agreement. This agreement may transfer to the publisher the rights to the author’s piece of work or data, and may include the right to re-sell, or otherwise re-distribute the work. Some of these agreements may also preclude the right to make your publication available within an institutional repository, such as Research Online, or another system. Where possible, it is important that authors are aware of the implications of transferring the ownership of their copyright, which may include the ability to determine future uses of the work.

If possible, a suitable publication agreement addendum, which allows the author to archive the final manuscript within their institutional repository, should be attached to the agreement before signing.

The deposit of material into the repository does not transfer ownership of copyright to the University of Wollongong.

5. Copyright advice

The University Copyright Officer is available to provide advice to UOW staff and students concerning the research, teaching and learning activities of the University.

To enquire about a matter related to copyright ownership of your publications, or liaison with publishers regarding copyright, please contact the University Copyright Officer, Noel Broadhead: Email: or Ext. 8164