Optics Express
Published by The Optical Society of America

Copyright and Permissions

Copyright Transfer

OSA asks all authors of articles for its journals, magazines, and books to sign a Transfer of Copyright. In doing so, an author transfers ownership of his or her article or book to OSA. Ownership of copyright gives OSA the right to publish the article and to defend against improper use (or even theft) of the article. It also permits OSA to mount the article online or to use the article in other forms, such as when a journal article becomes a chapter in an OSA-published book.

OSA needs copyright for an article because, as publisher, the society is in the best position to defend the article legally. In addition, transfer of copyright assures OSA that the work in question is entirely the author's own. Once again, the purpose of transfer of copyright is not to prevent the author from free publication of his or her own work, as long as this doesn't involve republication in a competing journal.


Author Posting Policy

Transfer of copyright does not prevent an author from subsequently reproducing his or her article. OSA's Copyright Transfer Agreement gives authors the right to publish the article or chapter in a compilation of the author's own works or reproduce the article for teaching purposes on a short-term basis. The author may also publish the article on his or her own noncommercial web page ("noncommercial" pages are defined here as those not charging for admission to the site or for downloading of material while on the site).

If the author chooses to publish the article on his or her own noncommercial website, the following message must be displayed at some prominent place near the article and must include a working hyperlink to OSA's journals website:

This paper was published in [Journal Name] and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: [article URL]. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.

URLs for to Early Posting and Final Articles

The following syntax can be used to create URLs to OSA articles. The URL is also displayed on the abstract page of any published article.

  • Final Version: Append journal code, volume, issue, and final page number to the following base URL: 
    http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=JOSAA-19-1-24
    See InfoBase Help for details.
  • Early Posting Version: Append the ADS manuscript ID number (which appears on every Early Posting article) to the following base URL: 
    http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?msid=73530
    See the Early Posting FAQ for details.

One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic or multiple reproduction, distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.

Permissions

For OSA to consider a copyright permission request we require in writing by fax, mail, or e-mail:

  • a complete citation of the item to be reproduced, including figure numbers, etc.,
  • a clear explanation of the intended use of the item, and
  • the requestor's complete contact information.

Please direct further questions regarding copyright to copyright@osa.org.