As of 7 April 2008, Springer has adapted its standard Copyright Transfer Statement (CTS) for new articles to ensure compliance with new guidelines from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
An author may self-archive an author-created version of his/her article on his/her own website. He/she may also deposit this version on his/her institution's and funder's (funder-designated) repository at the funder’s request or as a result of a legal obligation, including his/her final version, provided it is not made publicly available until after 12 months of official publication. He/she may not use the publisher's PDF version which is posted on www.springerlink.com for the purpose of self-archiving or deposit. Furthermore, the author may only post his/her version provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com".
Comments
It appears that authors may self-archive to their own web sites without delay. That's good, especially if the author's "own web site" --nearly always hosted by the institution-- includes his/her segment of the institutional repository. If Springer insists on a distinction between the author's web site and the author's niche in the IR, then it's retreating from full green and from its previous self-archiving policy.
Demanding the full 12 month embargo at PMC is permitted by NIH and mitigated by the option for immediate OA through the author's web site.
I'm a little surprised that Springer wants a link to the generic Springer home page rather than a deep link --preferably, a DOI-based deep link-- to the published version of the article itself. Doesn't it want to help readers of the self-archived edition find the published edition?
Posted by
Peter Suber at 4/09/2008 08:57:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
