General Policies

In order to maximize the value of IEEE publications to authors, users and the IEEE, the following IEEE copyright policies shall be applied throughout the IEEE:

1. IEEE shall serve and protect the interests of its authors and their employers.
2. All technical, educational and professional publications of the IEEE, except newsletters, but including Society and Technical Council Newsletters, are required to be copyrighted by the IEEE.
3. Copyright shall be held by the IEEE and not any of its organizational units.
4. The Intellectual Property Rights Office is responsible for the administration of all IEEE copyright matters under these policies and the procedures which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual. This includes obtaining the copyright registration, handling reprint and republication requests, maintaining copyright records, and administering fees when appropriate. The Intellectual Property Rights Office may, at its discretion, delegate some or all of its copyright implementation responsibilities to other IEEE departments if they have significant publishing activity, subject to procedures approved by a member of the IEEE staff, as designated by the Executive Director.
5. Third-Party Rights to Reuse IEEE-Copyrighted Material. Licenses and permissions to use IEEE copyrighted material (abstracts, full text, etc.) for commercial or other non-IEEE related purposes may be granted under terms approved by the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board.
6. Fees for the reuse of IEEE material are appropriate for contributing to the cost of original publication, especially where the reuse involves the republication of material, or any commercial uses.
7. Prior to publication by the IEEE, all authors or their employers shall transfer to the IEEE in writing any copyright they hold for their individual papers. Such transfer shall be a necessary requirement for publication, except for material in the public domain or which is reprinted with permission from a copyrighted publication.
8. In return for the transfer of authors’ rights, the IEEE shall grant authors and their employers’ permission to make copies and otherwise reuse the material under terms approved by the Board of Directors which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual.
9. After IEEE accepts the work for publication and the copyright has been transferred, changes or revisions to the work shall not be made without further review and approval.
10. For jointly sponsored conferences, which might require special copyright arrangements, those arrangements shall be made in accordance with the procedures which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual.
11. Copyrighting Electronic Information shall follow the electronic information dissemination procedures, which shall be specified in the PSPB Operations Manual.
12. The PSPB or its authorized designee shall consider the allowance of any exceptions to these Copyright policies.