Publishing agreement pitfalls

The following article tells a cautionary tale, demonstrating why it is important to understand any the conditions that you sign up to in a publishing agreement. What you sign up to may influence how you can re-use your work in the future. Agreements range from formal contracts with a lot of “legalese” through to a simple tick box, as in the case of the article below.

Dissertation for Sale: A Cautionary Tale 
A Google search brought me to a link to BarnesandNoble.com, where with one click I soon discovered that my dissertation was being sold. It took a minute of staring at the computer screen to fully accept that my work could be purchased for (at the time) $32.34 as an eTextbook for the Nook reader. I thought the price was a steal. Literally.

For more information, contact the Research Services Librarian, Jackie Wolstenholme.

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