Copyright and License

Overview

UTHM Publisher requires publishing rights from authors to publish and distribute research articles, which are determined by a publishing agreement between the author and UTHM Publisher. For articles published open access, the authors grant exclusive rights in their article to UTHM Publisher with a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 end user license. This page provides a summary of authors' rights when publishing with UTHM Publisher, while more detailed information is available in the publishing agreement. UTHM Publisher is dedicated to protecting authors' works and reputations and takes allegations of infringement, plagiarism, ethical disputes, and fraud seriously.

1. Copyright Ownership This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

  • Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights of their articles without restrictions.

  • Authors grant the Publisher (Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia) the right of first publication, along with a non-exclusive license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.

  • Authors grant any third party the right to use the article freely, subject to the terms of the applicable Open Access license.

2. Open Access License & Transition Policy To fully align with global open science mandates (such as Plan S) and to maximize the global visibility of our authors' work, the journal is transitioning its licensing policy. The applicable license depends on the date of publication:

  • For articles published ON or AFTER 1 January 2027: All articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under this license, users are free to:

    • Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

    • Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. (Condition: Users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made).

  • For articles published BEFORE 1 January 2027: These articles remain licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Under this license, users may share and adapt the material provided it is strictly for Non-Commercial purposes, appropriate credit is given, and any derivative works are distributed under the same license terms.

3. Author Rights & Self-Archiving Policy In alignment with global Open Access mandates, authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online. The journal permits self-archiving of the following manuscript versions:

  • Submitted Version (Pre-print): Authors may share their original, pre-peer-reviewed manuscript anywhere at any time without restriction.

  • Accepted Version (Author Accepted Manuscript / AAM): Authors may deposit the accepted version in any institutional repository, personal website, or academic network immediately upon acceptance (Zero embargo).

  • Published Version (Version of Record / VoR): Authors may share the final published PDF immediately upon publication. Authors are strongly encouraged to include a proper citation and a link to the published article's Digital Object Identifier (DOI) on the journal's website.

4. Publisher / Institutional Rights While authors retain copyright, the Publisher (Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia) retains the non-exclusive rights to:

  • Publish, format, and distribute the accepted manuscript in various formats (print and digital).

  • Archive and preserve the published article in recognized digital preservation databases (e.g., PKP PN, LOCKSS, or UTHM Institutional Repository) to ensure long-term accessibility.

  • Index the metadata and full text in prominent databases (e.g., Scopus, MyCite, Web of Science) to maximize global visibility.