Intellectual Property

Editorial Policies

Intellectual Property

The Review of Studies on Criminology, Sociology, and Law (RSCSL) recognizes and respects the intellectual property rights of authors, researchers, reviewers, and other contributors while promoting the responsible dissemination and lawful reuse of scholarly research. The journal is committed to protecting original academic work, encouraging ethical scholarship, and ensuring that all published content is managed in accordance with applicable intellectual property laws, copyright regulations, licensing agreements, and internationally recognized standards for scholarly publishing.

RSCSL supports an open-access publishing model that balances the protection of authors' intellectual property with the widest possible dissemination of knowledge for research, education, policymaking, professional practice, and public benefit.

 

Ownership of Scholarly Works

Authors retain full copyright and intellectual property rights to all articles published in the Review of Studies on Criminology, Sociology, and Law (RSCSL).

Publication in the journal does not require the transfer of copyright ownership.

Authors retain the right to:

  • Reuse all or part of their published work in future scholarly publications;
  • Include the work in books, dissertations, theses, reports, or teaching materials;
  • Deposit the published Version of Record in institutional or disciplinary repositories;
  • Share the published article through personal websites, institutional webpages, academic networking platforms, and scholarly repositories;
  • Receive appropriate attribution whenever their work is cited or reused.
 

Rights Granted to the Journal

Upon acceptance for publication, authors grant RSCSL a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to:

  • Publish and disseminate the article in print and electronic formats;
  • Archive and preserve the published work through trusted digital preservation systems;
  • Register and maintain persistent identifiers, including Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), where applicable;
  • Include the article in indexing and abstracting services;
  • Promote the article through scholarly communication channels;
  • Identify RSCSL as the original publisher of the work.

Because the publishing license is non-exclusive, authors remain free to exercise their copyright without restriction, provided that appropriate acknowledgment is given to the original publication.

 

Licensing of Published Articles

All articles published in RSCSL are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

The license permits users to:

  • Access, read, and download published articles;
  • Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
  • Translate, adapt, remix, and build upon the published work;
  • Reuse the content for educational, research, commercial, governmental, legal, or other lawful purposes.

Users must:

  • Provide appropriate attribution to the original author(s);
  • Cite RSCSL as the original source of publication;
  • Include a link to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License;
  • Clearly indicate whether changes have been made.
No additional legal or technological restrictions may be imposed that would prevent others from exercising the rights granted under the license.
 

Third-Party Materials

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material included in their manuscripts is used lawfully.

Third-party materials may include:

  • Figures;
  • Tables;
  • Photographs;
  • Maps;
  • Charts;
  • Illustrations;
  • Court decisions or legal documents protected by copyright;
  • Extensive quotations;
  • Datasets;
  • Government publications subject to copyright restrictions;
  • Multimedia content.

Where permission is required, authors must:

  • Obtain written authorization before submission;
  • Properly acknowledge the original copyright holder;
  • Clearly identify any restrictions governing reuse.

The journal assumes that all necessary permissions have been obtained before publication.

 

Respect for Intellectual Property

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.

Manuscripts should not contain:

  • Copyright-infringing material;
  • Unattributed text or ideas;
  • Unauthorized reproductions of copyrighted works;
  • Misappropriated research data;
  • Improper use of proprietary information;
  • Unauthorized use of confidential documents or legal materials.

Proper citation and acknowledgment of all sources are essential components of responsible scholarship.

 

Journal Intellectual Property

Unless otherwise indicated, the intellectual property associated with the journal's website and non-article content—including its name, logo, branding, design, layout, graphics, editorial materials, software, and website architecture—is owned by the journal or its publisher.

These materials may not be reproduced, modified, or redistributed without prior written permission, except where permitted by applicable law.

This restriction does not apply to scholarly articles published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which remain subject to the permissions granted under that license.

 

Protection Against Infringement

RSCSL takes allegations involving intellectual property seriously.

The journal may investigate concerns relating to:

  • Copyright infringement;
  • Plagiarism;
  • Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of published works;
  • Misappropriation of research data;
  • Misrepresentation of authorship;
  • Unauthorized use of confidential materials;
  • Improper use of copyrighted legal, forensic, or governmental documents.

Where concerns are substantiated, the journal may take appropriate editorial action, including:

  • Requesting corrections;
  • Rejecting manuscripts;
  • Publishing corrections or notices;
  • Retracting published articles;
  • Notifying relevant institutions or authorities where appropriate.

Investigations are conducted fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics Policy.

 

Respect for Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Heritage

Where research involves Indigenous knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, community knowledge, or culturally sensitive materials, authors are expected to respect applicable legal, ethical, and community-based intellectual property rights.

Authors should ensure that:

  • Appropriate permissions have been obtained where required;
  • Community rights and cultural sensitivities are respected;
  • Traditional knowledge is acknowledged appropriately;
  • Applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards are observed.

Commitment to Intellectual Property Rights

The Review of Studies on Criminology, Sociology, and Law (RSCSL) is committed to fostering a scholarly environment that respects creativity, innovation, originality, and responsible knowledge sharing. By protecting authors' intellectual property while supporting open-access publishing and lawful reuse through the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, the journal promotes ethical scholarship, responsible dissemination of research, and broad public access to knowledge. These principles strengthen academic integrity and contribute to the advancement of criminology, sociology, law, criminal justice, forensic science, governance, public policy, and related interdisciplinary disciplines.

 

Alignment with International Standards

This Intellectual Property Policy has been developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles of copyright, intellectual property management, publication ethics, and responsible scholarly communication and is aligned with:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) – Guidance on copyright, authorship, publication ethics, intellectual property, and responsible scholarly publishing:
    https://publicationethics.org/
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) – Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work, including recommendations on authorship, copyright, accountability, and editorial responsibility:
    https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
  • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) – Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, including requirements for transparent copyright ownership, licensing, author rights, and ethical publishing practices:
    https://doaj.org/apply/guide/

RSCSL periodically reviews and updates this policy to ensure continued alignment with evolving international standards for intellectual property protection, open-access publishing, research integrity, editorial transparency, and responsible scholarly communication.