Contributor License

Signing the Journal’s Contributor License

Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Contributor License for all journal articles we publish.

Sage’s Contributor License is a license agreement under which the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the proprietor.

For information on open access options at Sage, please visit the Open Access pages.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Contributor License

1. What is an exclusive license
2. Why does Sage require an exclusive license
3. Who owns copyright in my Contribution?
4. What are my rights as author?
5. What are my options for signing and returning my Contributor License?
6. What if I have co-authors contributing to this Contribution?
7. What if my employer holds the copyright in my Contribution?
8. What if I am a government employee?
9. When do I need to submit my signed Contributor License?
10. Why do I need to indemnify the Journal and Sage?
11. What is the Declaration of Conflicting Interests?
12. Does the Contributor License enable me to comply with particular funder and institutional mandates including the NIH?
13. What if my employer or research funding body requires I submit an addendum to my Contributor License?
14. Can I publish my Contribution open access via Sage Choice? (Sage’s Open Access publishing option in subscription journals)
15. How do I request Sage Choice?
16. Do I need to sign a Contributor License if I am publishing my article Open Access via Sage Choice?
17. What is a Contributor Agreement, is it the same as a Contributor License?

1. What is an exclusive licence agreement?
An exclusive license to publish is the Contributor License type used by the majority of Sage hybrid journals. With an exclusive license you retain copyright. Your Contribution is credited as © The Author(s) but you license the control of all rights exclusively to Sage or, where relevant, a society or other proprietary publishing partner. This means that all licensing requests including permissions are managed by Sage.

2. Why does Sage require an exclusive license to publish?
We seek to bring your Contribution to the widest possible readership. An exclusive license helps us ensure adequate protection against infringement of copyright protected material through breach of copyright or piracy anywhere in the world. It also ensures that requests by third parties to reprint or reproduce a contribution, or part of it, in any format, are handled efficiently in accordance with general policy which encourages dissemination of knowledge inside the framework of copyright.

3. Who owns the copyright in your Contribution?
If you have written your Contribution yourself, or with co–authors, and you have not been commissioned to write the article by someone else (either by a government agency, your employer or any other party) you (and any co–authors) will hold the copyright in your article. If you have written the Contribution in the capacity of your role at work or your contract of employment you may not hold copyright in your Contribution, and you will need to check the relevant box on your Contributor License. Please see below for further information.

4. What are my rights as author?
Please visit Journal Author Archiving Policies and Re-Use.

5. What are my options for signing and returning my Contributor License?
After acceptance, you will be asked to sign a Contributor License. This will occur in the following ways, dependent on the journal you are publishing in:

• Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment: You will receive an email after your manuscript is accepted in Sage Track (peer review system) with instructions and a link to the system where you can view the Contributor License, read the terms and sign electronically. Once signed, you (and any co-authors) will then receive an email confirmation with a PDF copy of the signed Contributor License.
• Peer review system: For some Sage journals the Contributor License is signed within peer review system, Sage Track. In this case, you will be asked after acceptance to sign the Contributor License, including agreeing to the terms and conditions. Once signed, Sage Track will automate the return of your Contributor License. Note in this system Contributor Licenses may be referred to as Contributor Agreements.
• By e–mail – You may be requested to return your signed Contributor License via email. In this case a scanned hard copy of the Contributor License with your signature on it or a digital original copy with your electronic signature are equally acceptable.

6. What if I have co–authors contributing to this article?
You must ensure that you have your co-authors' consent to submit the article for publication and that you have the right to sign the Contributor License on behalf of all of them.

If signing in Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment: All authors listed on the manuscript will receive an email with a link to sign their Contributor License in the platform, any author can follow the link to sign. At the point of signing the Contributor License the author must confirm they have permission to sign on behalf of any co-authors. Once signed, a confirmation email is sent to all authors listed on the manuscript and all authors will receive a signed PDF of the Contributor License.

If signing in Sage Track: The submitting author will be designated to sign the Contributor License on behalf of any co-authors.

If all authors are required to sign: If preferred, all authors may sign the Contributor License. Co-authors may either all sign and return the same copy of the Contributor License, or each author may sign and return separate copies. In Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment, when viewing the Contributor License authors should select ‘more than one option applies’ when indicating copyright ownership. The Contributor License PDF will then be sent via email with instructions on how to return via email and all authors may sign.

7. What if my employer holds the copyright in my work?
To indicate that the rights to your work are owned by your employer, you may check the relevant box on your Contributor License and also have an authorised representative of your employer sign the Contributor License before returning it.

In Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment, selecting this option will require you to sign a PDF version of the Contributor License which will be emailed to you to complete, along with instructions. The signed PDF(s) should be returned via email to contributorlicenses@sagepub.com. Until this is returned with the necessary signatures your article will not be published.

8. What if I am a government employee?
a) If you prepared your work as part of your employment with a government body of the, UK, Canadian, Australian or British Commonwealth , select the "Other Government work (not U.S.)", and have an authorized person at your organization sign the Contributor License too.
b) If you prepared your work as part of your employment with a government body of the US federal government , your work is likely public domain in the US. Please check the relevant box on the form and have the Contributor License signed by an authorized person at your organization, if required by your agency.
c) If you prepared your work as part of your employment with a government body of a State or local government in the US, select the “work made for hire for employment” box and have an authorized representative of your organization sign the Contributor License, too.

9. When do I need to submit my signed Contributor License?
You will receive a Contributor License after acceptance of your article. Please sign as soon as possible to prevent any delays in the production process for your article. Without the signed Contributor License we will be unable to publish the article.

10. Why do I need to indemnify the Journal and Sage?
It is standard for all Sage contributors to make certain warranties to the Journal and Sage Publishing. This is simply because as the author of the article you are the only person who can assure us of the information stated in the warranties, including that the article we are publishing is your own work, and does not infringe the rights of anyone else. We have taken care to ensure the warranties are limited to statements that are reasonably within your control as author.

11. What is the Declaration of Conflicting Interests?
A Declaration of Conflicting Interests policy refers to a formal policy a journal may have to require a conflict of interest statement or conflict of interest disclosure from a submitting or publishing author.

12. Does the Contributor License enable me to comply with particular funder and institutional mandates including the NIH?
A – Yes, Sage Contributor Licenses allow all authors to publish in full compliance with most currently known funding body and institutional open access archiving mandates. Exceptions are covered by the Sage Choice program. Please also refer to your rights as author.

13. What if my employer or research funding body requires I submit an addendum to my Contributor License?
If you are required to submit an addendum by your employer or research funding body you should do the following:

Sage Journals: Licensing and Payment: If you are viewing your Contributor License in this system, please make your request to contributorlicenses@sagepub.com. You should indicate the name of the journal, the title of your paper and the details of the request.

Sage Track: If you have been asked to sign your Contributor License in Sage Track, please make your request via email (UK) or provide a copy of the addendum to the Production Editor (US), indicating the name of the journal , the title of your paper and the details of the request.

14. Can I publish my article open access via Sage Choice (Sage’s open access publishing option in subscription journals)?
Sage Choice offers authors the opportunity to make their manuscripts Open Access after acceptance for publication. The program allows authors to choose Open Access or by being eligible via an Open Access agreement. Authors can make this choice after acceptance in the peer review system.

Although Sage Choice is offered by the majority of subscription journals, a small number of journals do not provide this option. More information is available at Sage Choice FAQ, including the list of journals and pricing exceptions.

If you select or agree to Sage Choice, Sage will publish your article under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license (CC BY-NC) which allows others to re-use the work without permission as long as the work is properly referenced and the use is non-commercial. Authors required to publish under a CC BY license by their funder may publish under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) which allows use of the work for commercial purposes.

15. How do I request Sage Choice?
Authors can make this choice after acceptance in the peer review system.

Sage Choice: author(s) eligible for an Open Access agreement.
Sage identifies open access agreement eligibility automatically. If you are eligible for open access via an agreement Sage has with your institution you will receive an email from openaccess@sagepub.com will the details of your open access offer and a link. You must follow the link to accept or decline the open access offer in Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment.

The system will then present you with an appropriate license to sign based on your selection. If the open access offer is accepted, you will sign a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial open access license (CC BY-NC). If you decline the offer, you will sign a Contributor License.

Sage Choice: author requests Open Access
If you are signing your Contributor License in Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment and your article type is eligible for open access, you can select this option before you sign your Contributor License. When selected, you can view the Article Processing Charge and accept (or decline) the open access offer. If you accept, you will sign a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial open access license (CC BY-NC). If you decline, you will sign a Contributor License.

If you are signing your Contributor License in Sage Track, you should request Sage Choice via email (openaccess@sagepub.com) after your article is accepted. Please provide your article details and the journal you are publishing in, you will then receive an offer via email from Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment.

16. Do I need to sign a Contributor License if I am publishing my article open access via Sage Choice?
If you are opting to make your article open access in a journal eligible for the Sage Choice program, you need to sign a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Open Access license (CC BY-NC).

See Sage Choice for more information.

17. What is a Contributor Agreement, is it the same as a Contributor License?
Yes, a Contributor Agreement is the same as a Contributor License.

In Sage Track authors may see the terminology ‘Contributor Agreements’ or ‘Contributor’s Publishing Agreement’. Sage is transitioning away from this terminology and replacing with ‘Contributor Licenses’ to ensure the process is clear for authors. In Sage Journals: Licensing & Payment you will see Contributor License used.