Copyright
Since January 2000 the BMJ Publishing Group Limited (“BMJPGL”) has not asked authors of journal articles to assign us their copyright. Authors (or their employers) retain their copyright in the article; all we require is an exclusive licence (except for government employees who cannot grant this, thus non-exclusive) that allows us to publish the article in your chosen journal (including any derivative products) and any other BMJ Publishing Group products, and allows us the sub-licence such rights and exploit all subsidiary rights.
We ask the corresponding author to grant this exclusive licence (or non exclusive for government employees) on behalf of all authors by reading our licence and inserting in the manuscript on submission the following statement:
“The Corresponding Author has the right to grant on behalf of all authors and does grant on behalf of all authors, an exclusive licence (or non-exclusive for government employees) on a worldwide basis to the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, and its Licensees to permit this article (if accepted) to be published in [INSERT NAME OF JOURNAL] and any other BMJPGL products and to exploit all subsidiary rights, as set out in our licence.”
The licence allows authors to use their own articles for their own “non commercial” purposes without seeking permission from us. Only if the use is commercial do we need to know about it. In addition, we will pay authors a royalty on certain commercial uses that we negotiate.
Thus authors may use their own articles for the following non-commercial purposes without asking permission (and subject only to acknowledging first publication in a BMJ Journal and giving a full reference or web link, as appropriate).
• Making a reasonable number of copies for personal or
non-commercial professional use. This includes the contributors own
teaching purposes.
• Republishing part or all of the article in a
book or other publication edited by the author (except for multiple
contributions in the same book or publication, for which permission
need to be sought). Please refer to our Copyright and Permissions Guidelines.
• Using individual figures or tables or extracts of text (up to 250 words) in other publications published by a third party.
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Using the article in a course pack or compilation (whether paper of
electronic) in the authors’ institution. This dos not apply if a
commercial charge is made for the compilation or training programme.
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For non “Author pays” (unlocked articles), the right to post the
accepted manuscript (non final published version) and final published
abstract on the contributor’s own and/or his/her institution’s website
6 months after the print publication date or if not published in print,
from being published online. Also for defined “Research Funded
Articles” (as set out on the manuscript submission website) the
accepted manuscript may be put up by the contributing author on PubMed
Central and their mirror sties 12 months after publication by the BMJ
Group (or earlier if indicated on the manuscript submission website).
All must include acknowledgement.
• For unlocked articles, the
complete final published version may be posted on the contributor’ own
and/or his/her institution’s website immediately on publication,
whether online as publish ahead of print (Online first) or in print.
For commercial reprint sales in excess of £2000, BMJ Journals is please to offer authors a 10% royalty of net receipts less any sales commission. The corresponding author will be contacted automatically should such a sale be secured to determine how he royalty should be paid. The royalty will be offered for up to 5 years after publication. Authors should note that accepted documents and PDFs are deleted from Bench>Press after 12 months.
Please click on the journal you are submitting to to view the licence form.
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Acupuncture in Medicine
Annals of Rheumatic Diseases
British Journal of Opthalmology
British Journal of Sports Medicine
Education & Practice
Emergency Medicine Journal
Fetal and Neonatal
Gut
Heart
Heart Asia
Injury Prevention
Journal of Clinical Pathology
Journal of Epidemiology, Community Health
Journal of Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Genetics
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
Practical Neurology
Medical Humanities
Occupational and Environmental Health
Postgraduate Medical Journal
Quality and Safety in Health Care
Sexually Transmitted Infection
Tobacco Control
Thorax