The American Scientific Publishing Group (ASPG) supports the broad dissemination and responsible reuse of scholarly research while protecting the rights of authors and maintaining clear and transparent copyright and licensing terms.
This policy explains copyright ownership, publication rights, Creative Commons licensing, author rights, reuse permissions, and the treatment of third-party material across ASPG journals.
1. Copyright Ownership
Authors retain copyright in their published work.
ASPG does not require authors to transfer copyright to the publisher as a condition of publication.
Upon publication, authors grant ASPG a non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, reproduce, communicate, archive, preserve, and make the Version of Record available, and to identify ASPG and the relevant journal as the original publisher of the article.
Because these publishing rights are non-exclusive, authors retain ownership of their work and may exercise their copyright rights without seeking permission from ASPG, subject to any applicable third-party rights or legal obligations.
2. Creative Commons License
All scholarly articles published in ASPG journals are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under CC BY 4.0, users may:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material; and
Use the material for any lawful purpose, including commercial and non-commercial purposes.
These permissions apply provided that appropriate attribution is given, a reference to the license is provided, and any modifications to the original material are indicated where applicable.
Attribution must not imply that the original author(s), journal, or ASPG endorses the user or the manner in which the material is reused.
ASPG does not impose additional legal or technological restrictions that would prevent users from exercising rights granted under CC BY 4.0.
3. Author Rights
Authors retain copyright and maintain broad rights over their published work.
Authors may, without seeking additional permission from ASPG:
Share or distribute their published article;
Deposit the article in institutional, subject, or other appropriate repositories;
Post the article on personal or institutional websites;
Use the article in teaching, presentations, lectures, and educational activities;
Reuse figures, tables, text, or other material created by the authors in future work;
Include the work in theses, dissertations, books, collections, or subsequent scholarly publications where appropriate;
Translate or adapt their own work; and
Otherwise reuse their work consistent with their rights as copyright holders.
Where the Version of Record is shared or reused, authors are encouraged to provide the full citation and DOI or link to the original ASPG publication.
Authors remain responsible for respecting any rights that may belong to co-authors, institutions, funders, or third-party copyright holders.
4. Rights of Readers and Other Users
Readers and other users may reuse ASPG-published material covered by CC BY 4.0 without requesting permission from ASPG, provided that the conditions of the license are satisfied.
Appropriate attribution should normally identify:
The original author(s);
The original publication;
The applicable CC BY 4.0 license; and
Any modifications made to the original material, where applicable.
The CC BY 4.0 license permits reuse in scholarly, educational, commercial, technological, and other lawful contexts.
Users must not represent adapted or reused material in a manner that falsely suggests endorsement by the original author(s), journal, or publisher.
5. Third-Party Material
The CC BY 4.0 license applies to the content of ASPG articles except where material is specifically identified as being subject to different copyright or licensing terms.
Third-party material may include photographs, figures, illustrations, tables, maps, datasets, excerpts, or other content for which the article authors do not hold the necessary copyright.
Authors are responsible for:
Identifying third-party copyrighted material included in their manuscript;
Obtaining any permissions required for its publication;
Providing appropriate acknowledgement and attribution; and
Informing the journal of any restrictions that apply to its reuse.
Where third-party material is not covered by the article's CC BY 4.0 license, this should be clearly indicated through an appropriate credit line, copyright notice, or other statement accompanying the material.
Users wishing to reuse such excluded material must obtain permission from the relevant rights holder where required.
6. Permissions and Reuse
Permission from ASPG is not required for reuse of material covered by the CC BY 4.0 license when the proposed use complies with the terms of that license.
This includes copying, redistribution, adaptation, reproduction, translation, and commercial or non-commercial reuse.
Permission may be required where:
Material is specifically excluded from the CC BY 4.0 license;
Copyright is owned by a third party;
The proposed use involves rights not granted under the applicable license; or
Other legal rights, such as privacy, publicity, confidentiality, trademark, or contractual rights, may apply.
Where clarification is required regarding ASPG-published material, inquiries may be directed to the publisher.
7. Self-Archiving and Repository Deposit
Authors may immediately deposit and share the published Version of Record in institutional repositories, subject repositories, personal or institutional websites, scholarly platforms, and other appropriate research-sharing services.
No publisher-imposed embargo applies to self-archiving of ASPG open-access articles.
The applicable copyright notice, Creative Commons license information, and citation to the original ASPG publication should be retained when the article is deposited or shared.
Additional information concerning accessibility and self-archiving is provided in the Open Access Policy.
8. Copyright and Licensing Information on Published Articles
ASPG communicates copyright and licensing information with published scholarly articles to ensure that authors and readers can readily identify the applicable rights and conditions of reuse.
Published articles should identify:
The copyright holder;
The applicable Creative Commons license; and
The original publisher and journal.
Where particular content within an article is excluded from the article's general license, the applicable rights or restrictions should be identified with that material.
9. Relationship with Open Access
Copyright ownership and open-access licensing are complementary but distinct.
Authors retain copyright in their work, while the CC BY 4.0 license provides readers and other users with defined rights to access, share, and reuse the published material.
ASPG's open-access model does not require authors to surrender copyright or grant exclusive publishing rights to the publisher.
Information concerning immediate accessibility, self-archiving, publication charges, and long-term access is provided in the Open Access Policy.
10. Post-Publication Changes and the Scholarly Record
The copyright and licensing status of a published article does not prevent ASPG from taking appropriate action to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.
Corrections, retractions, Expressions of Concern, or other post-publication notices are managed transparently and remain linked to the relevant scholarly record where applicable.
Detailed procedures are provided in the Corrections and Retractions Policy.
11. Policy Consistency and Scope
This Copyright and Licensing Policy applies across ASPG journals and should be read together with the publisher's related policies, including:
Where material is subject to specific third-party copyright or licensing conditions, those conditions take precedence for that particular material.
ASPG does not impose copyright or licensing restrictions that contradict the terms of the applicable Creative Commons license or the publisher's Open Access Policy.