Traditionally, publishers have owned copyrights. Although the copyright defaults to the author, copyright can be transferred, and most publishing contracts include a section transferring some or all rights to the publisher. In other words, the publishers own the copyrights because the authors have given them away. This is often titled "Copyright Transfer Agreement." However, contracts can be negotiated.
The consequences of transferring copyrights to the publisher is often not recognized. If an author doesn't own the rights to his or her own work, he or she may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work.
may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. - See more at: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum#sthash.HOZyGiP0.dpuf
may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. - See more at: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum#sthash.HOZyGiP0.dpuf
may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. - See more at: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum#sthash.HOZyGiP0.dpuf
may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. - See more at: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum#sthash.HOZyGiP0.dpuf
may not be able to place the work on course Web sites, copy it for students or colleagues, deposit the work in a public online archive, or reuse portions in a subsequent work. - See more at: http://www.sparc.arl.org/resources/authors/addendum#sthash.HOZyGiP0.dpuf