As a journal author, you retain rights for large number of author uses, including use by your employing institute or company. These rights are retained and permitted without the need to obtain specific permission from Elsevier. These include:

• the right to make copies (print or electric) of the journal article for their own personal use, including for their own classroom teaching use;
• the right to make copies and distribute copies (including via e-mail) of the journal article to research colleagues, for personal use by such colleagues (but not for Commercial Purposes**, as listed below);
• the right to post a pre-print version of the journal article on Internet web sites including electronic pre-print servers, and to retain indefinitely such version on such servers or sites (see also our information on electronic preprints for a more detailed discussion on these points);
• the right to post a revised personal version of the text of the final journal article (to reflect changes made in the peer review process) on the author's personal or institutional web site or server, incorporating the complete citation and with a link to the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the article;
• the right to present the journal article at a meeting or conference and to distribute copies of such paper or article to the delegates attending the meeting;
• for the author’s employer, if the journal article is a ‘work for hire’, made within the scope of the author’s employment, the right to use all or part of the information in (any version of) the journal article for other intra-company use (e.g. training), including by posting the article on secure, internal corporate intranets;
• patent and trademark rights and rights to any process or procedure described in the journal article;
• the right to include the journal article, in full or in part, in a thesis or dissertation;
• the right to use the journal article or any part thereof in a printed compilation of works of the author, such as collected writings or lecture notes (subsequent to publication of the article in the journal); and
• the right to prepare other derivative works, to extend the journal article into book-length form, or to otherwise re-use portions or excerpts in other works, with full acknowledgement of its original publication in the journal.

*Please Note: The rights listed above apply to journal authors only. For information regarding book author rights, please contact the Global Rights Department.

Elsevier Global Rights Department
phone (+44) 1865 843 830
fax (+44) 1865 853 333
email: permissions@elsevier.com

Other uses by authors should be authorized by Elsevier through the Global Rights Department, and journal authors are encouraged to let Elsevier know of any particular needs or requirements.

**Commercial Purposes includes the use or posting of articles for commercial gain including the posting by companies or their employee-authored works for use by customers of such companies (e.g. pharmaceutical companies and physician-prescribers); commercial exploitation such as directly associating advertising with such postings; the charging of fees for document delivery or access; or the systematic distribution to others via e-mail lists or list servers (to parties other than known colleagues), whether for a fee or for free.

When Elsevier changes its policies to enable greater academic use of journal materials (such as the changes several years ago in our web-posting policies) or to clarify the rights retained by journal authors, Elsevier is prepared to extend those rights retroactively with respect to articles published in journal issues produced prior to the policy change. 

Elsevier is pleased to confirm that, unless explicitly noted to the contrary, all policies apply retrospectively to previously published journal content. If, after reviewing the material noted above, you have any questions about such rights, please contact Global Rights.

You will receive a form automatically by post or email once your article is received by Elsevier's Editorial-Production Department. View a generic example of the agreement here. Some journals will use another variation of this form.

You can post your version of your journal article on your personal web page or the web site of your institution, provided that you include a link to the journal's home page or the article’s DOI and include a complete citation for the article.  This means that you can update your version (e.g. the Word or Tex form) to reflect changes made during the peer review process.

Complete information about proper usage and citation of journal articles can be found in this   pamphlet, published by the Global Rights Department.

Elsevier wants to ensure that it has the exclusive distribution rights for all media. Copyright transfer eliminates any ambiguity or uncertainty about Elsevier's ability to distribute, sub-license and protect the article from unauthorized copying or alteration.

The research community needs certainty with respect to the validity of scientific papers, which is normally obtained through the editing and peer review processes. The scientific record must be clear and unambiguous. Elsevier believes that, by obtaining exclusive distribution rights, it will always be clear to researchers that when they access an Elsevier site to review a paper, they are reading a final version of the paper which has been edited, peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in an appropriate journal. See also our information on electronic preprints for more detailed discussion on these points.

Many Elsevier journals are now offering authors e-offprints – free electronic versions of published articles. E-offprints are watermarked PDF versions, and are usually delivered within 24 hours, much quicker than print copies. These PDFs may not be posted to public websites.

For more information, please see your Journal's Guide to Authors or contact sciencereprints@elsevier.com

While it may not be possible to draft a “code” that applies adequately to all instances and circumstances, Elsevier and the journal editors believe it useful to outline our expectations of authors and procedures that the journal will employ in the event of questions concerning author conduct. Procedures and guidelines with respect to such queries and investigations are outlined in the Elsevier Position on Journal Publishing Ethics and Responsibilities and Conflicts of Interest are incorporated herein by reference, and should be reviewed by authors. The policies of individual journals may differ, please review the relevant journal's instructions to authors.