Annals　＞　CC License

Annals of the Japan Association for Philosophy of Science

On abolishing the copyright transfer system and adopting the creative commons license［September 21, 2022］

　The Japan Association for Philosophy of Science has decided to abolish the hitherto-adopted system of the transfer of copyright concerning works published in Annals of the Japan Association for Philosophy of Science and newly adopt the creative commons license (hereafter CC license), which has now become a world standard for open access (hereafter OA) academic publishing.
　Thus far, the Association has been requiring authors to transfer the copyright of their works to be published in our journal from themselves to the Association, following the Copyright Rules framed in 2006 (https://phsc.jp/en/annals_copyright.html#copyright). However, we decided this time to reconsider this conventional way in keeping with the changing environments surrounding OA academic publication in the world and let the copyright belong where it is originally. Accordingly, we cordially ask the authors to grant a corresponding CC license to their works, which enables a more flexible and broad-ranging usage of academic research accomplishments.
　However, we do recognize that this is such a drastic change from the preceding system that we will secure a get-acquainted period until the end of fiscal year 2022 in which we can address the questions of the concerned members of the Association to allow them to form a comprehensive understanding of this systemic change. The new system will be implemented on a full scale from fiscal year 2023.
　If you want to know more about what CC licenses are, please refer to some expository articles posted on the website of Creative Commons (https://creativecommons.org/) or other introductory articles available on the internet.
　Inquiries about this new license system should be addressed to the office of the Association (kisoron@sasappa.co.jp).

Transitional Measures to be Taken

  • – A get-acquainted period will be ensured until the end of fiscal year 2022 in which we address the questions or opinions of the concerned members of the Association, although we will address occasional questions or opinions thereafter, too.
  • – The new system (of the CC license) shall be applied to works that are published in Annals from the September, 2023, issue on.
  • – The copyright of works that are to be published under the new system should belong to the authors. Accordingly, considering that it is the copyright holder alone who owns the legal right to grant to his/her works any licenses that are to restrict parts of his/her copyright, we request authors to sign and submit a consent form (Word file) during the preparation period for the final manuscript for submission following its acceptance, in which they authorize the Association to display the CC license along with their published works.
  • – We adopt “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)” for the time being as the kind of CC licenses to be granted to works published in our journal. However, we leave open the possibility to shift to “Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)” in the future, which has become the world standard for OA journals, although the kind of CC licenses, once granted to works, cannot be changed thereafter. The CC license is granted to both the works published in electronic journals made open on J-STAGE and those published in conventional paper-based journals.
  • – Those works that have already been published in our journal in the past, of which the copyrights have already been transferred to the Association, are not the targets of the system change of this time. Accordingly, the copyrights of these works shall be retained by the Association as ever in accordance with the “Copyright Rules” found below, and the CC license will not be granted to them.

Effective from June 18, 2006


Article 1: Goal
This rule governs the management of an author’s copyright for a paper, a commentary, etc. (hereinafter described as “Work”) published in a journal or any other publication issued by this Association (hereinafter described as “Journals”).


Article 2: Copyright Transfer
The copyright* for a Work published in Journals shall, in principle, be transferred** from its author to this Association. If there should be difficulty in the transfer of the copyright due to special circumstances, the Association shall, upon the initiative by the author, consult with the author for an amicable settlement of the matter.


Article 3: Exception for Moral Right Exercise
The author shall not exercise his/her moral right toward this Association and those authorized by the Association in any of the following cases:
 (1) modifications due to technical problems in electronic distribution of the Work
 (2) use of the abstract of the Work only.


Article 4: Licensing to a Third Party

  1. If a third party makes a request to license a copyright which belongs to this Association, the Board of Officers of the Association will deliberate over the request and may accept a request that the Board deems appropriate.
  2. If, as a result of the action taken in accordance with the preceding clause, the third party provides consideration to the Association, such consideration shall, in principle, be given to the author.


Article 5: Author’s Right

  1. This Association neither objects to nor prevents the use by the author of his/her Work whose copyright the Association owns.
  2. When the author uses his/her Work, the author shall notify the Association of such a use in advance and give a reference to its original publication in Journals in any reproduction of the Work, or any publication in which the Work is used. This provision does not apply, however, if 25% or more of the Work is changed. In addition, the author may use his/her Work without any advance notice for the purpose of clause 3 below.
  3. The author may post his/her Work at any time on his/her website, including the website of the institution to which the author belongs, provided a reference is given to its original publication in Journals.


Article 6: Copyright Infringement and Dispute Resolution

  1. If there is a copyright infringement or a suspicion thereof by a third party regarding a Work whose copyright this Association owns, the Association and the author shall deliberate over the appropriate measures to be taken for the resolution of this dispute.
  2. If a Work published in Journals causes an infringement of the copyright or any other right and interest of a third party, the author of the Work shall be solely and fully responsible for any such infringement or damage.


Article 7: Effective Date
This rule shall be effective from June 18, 2006. Unless otherwise requested by the author, and with the acknowledgement of this Association that the request in question is justified, the copyright of a Work published before June 18, 2006 shall also be governed by this rule.

* “Copyright” refers to the following rights among those prescribed by articles 21-28 of the Copyright Law of Japan
(see http://www.cric.or.jp/english/clj/cl2.html as excerpted below).


(Right of reproduction)
Article 21: The author shall have the exclusive right to reproduce his work.


(Rights of public transmission, etc.)
Article 23:

  1. The author shall have the exclusive right to make public transmission of his work (including the making transmittable of his work in the case of the interactive transmission).
  2. The author shall have the exclusive right to communicate publicly, by means of a receiving apparatus, his work of which the public transmission has been made.


(Rights of translation, adaptation, etc.)
Article 27: The author shall have the exclusive rights to translate, arrange musically or transform, or dramatize, cinematize, or otherwise adapt his work.


(Right of the original author in the use of a derivative work)
Article 28: In the exploitation of a derivative work, the author of the pre-existing work shall have the same rights as those the author of the derivative work has under the provisions of this Subsection.


** The copyright is transferred when the author submits a consent form for copyright transfer to this Association.