Licensing and Copyright

The Gazette of Medical Sciences (The GMS) supports open dissemination of scholarly research while recognizing the rights and responsibilities of authors, copyright holders and readers. This policy explains copyright ownership, the license applied to published articles, and the conditions governing their use and redistribution.

Licensing Policy

The GMS publishes open-access scholarly articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits readers and other users to share, copy, distribute, reproduce, adapt and build upon licensed material in any medium or format, including for commercial purposes, provided the license conditions are followed.

Reuse must include appropriate attribution to the author or other designated rights holder, a reference to the source where reasonably practicable, a link to the CC BY 4.0 license, and an indication of whether changes have been made. Attribution must not suggest endorsement by the authors or The GMS.

Users must not impose additional legal or technological restrictions that prevent others from exercising rights granted by the license. The license does not remove applicable privacy, publicity, moral or other rights that may require separate consideration.

Copyright Ownership

Authors retain copyright in original articles published in The GMS. Publication does not ordinarily require the transfer of copyright ownership to the journal.

Where copyright belongs to an employer, institution, government or another rights holder, authors must disclose that arrangement and ensure that they have the authority to grant the permissions necessary for publication and open-access distribution.

The copyright notice accompanying an article should accurately identify the applicable rights holder and the publication license.

Permission to Publish

By submitting a manuscript for publication, authors represent that they are authorized to submit the work and, upon acceptance, to permit The GMS to publish, reproduce, distribute, display and make the article available as the scholarly version of record under the stated open-access license.

Authors must provide any declarations, confirmations or publication permissions reasonably required by the journal. The GMS may request clarification where copyright ownership or publication authority is uncertain.

Author Rights and Sharing

Subject to the rights of third parties and the applicable publication license, authors may share and distribute their published articles through personal websites, institutional repositories, scholarly networks, teaching materials and other legitimate channels without seeking additional permission from The GMS.

Authors are encouraged to identify the published version, include its citation details and link to the article's permanent webpage or DOI where available.

Third-Party Material and Permissions

Authors are responsible for identifying material included in a manuscript that is owned by a third party, including previously published figures, photographs, tables, illustrations and substantial extracts.

Where required, authors must obtain written permission for the intended publication and reuse before the article is published, and provide appropriate acknowledgments and rights notices.

Material not covered by the article's CC BY 4.0 license must be clearly identified with its separate copyright or permission terms. The publication of an article under CC BY 4.0 does not automatically place independently owned third-party material under that license.

Originality and Rights Compliance

Authors must ensure that publication of their manuscript does not unlawfully infringe copyright or other intellectual property rights. Any reuse of previously published content must comply with applicable permissions, licensing conditions and the journal's policies on originality and publication ethics.

The GMS considers credible allegations of copyright infringement, plagiarism, unauthorized reproduction or misrepresentation of ownership under its editorial and publication ethics procedures. Appropriate action may include requests for clarification, correction of the scholarly record or other measures proportionate to the circumstances.

Copyright Corrections and Disputes

Authors should notify The GMS of unusual copyright arrangements or restrictions during submission, or as soon as these become known.

Requests to correct a copyright notice, attribution or license statement after publication will be reviewed where supported by appropriate evidence. Any necessary amendment will be handled transparently in accordance with the journal's correction and publication ethics procedures. A correction cannot retrospectively revoke rights already validly granted under an irrevocable Creative Commons license.

Scope of the Article License

The CC BY 4.0 statement applies to scholarly article content designated as licensed under that license. Separate arrangements may apply to third-party material, trademarks, website design, promotional materials, podcasts or other content where expressly indicated.

Readers should consult the rights statement attached to the specific material before reuse.

References and Related Policies

This policy is informed by the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License and the ICMJE Recommendations on Copyright.

Related GMS policies and guidance: Open Access Policy, Authorship Policy, Article Preparation Guidelines, and Editorial Policies.