Copyright and Licensing Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

The International Journal of Multidisciplinary Inquiry (IJMI) is committed to promoting the responsible dissemination, accessibility, and reuse of scholarly research while respecting the intellectual property rights of authors and other rights holders.

This policy establishes the journal's arrangements concerning copyright ownership, publication rights, open-access licensing, permitted reuse, and the responsibilities of authors and users of published materials.

The policy applies to Original Research Articles and Review Articles published in IJMI and should be read alongside the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and other applicable publication requirements.

2. Copyright Ownership

Authors retain copyright in their original scholarly works published in IJMI. Submission and publication in the journal do not require authors to transfer ownership of their copyright to the journal or publisher.

Authors remain the copyright holders of their original contributions, subject to any applicable rights held by third parties in materials incorporated into the work.

By submitting a manuscript for publication, authors confirm that they possess the rights and permissions necessary to submit the work and, if accepted, to authorize its publication and distribution under the journal's applicable licensing arrangements.

Where a manuscript is subject to institutional, employment-related, contractual, or other copyright obligations, authors are responsible for ensuring that publication in IJMI does not violate those obligations.

3. Right of First Publication

Authors whose manuscripts are accepted for publication grant IJMI the right of first publication of the accepted work.

This authorization permits the journal to publish, reproduce, distribute, display, preserve, and make the article publicly accessible as part of its scholarly publishing activities, in accordance with the applicable open-access licence.

The grant of first publication rights does not transfer copyright ownership from the authors to IJMI.

Authors retain the right to use, share, and further disseminate their published work, subject to the requirements of the applicable licence, proper acknowledgment of the original publication, and any relevant third-party rights.

4. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Articles published in IJMI are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless an expressly identified exception applies to particular third-party material.

Under CC BY 4.0, users may copy, reproduce, distribute, communicate, and share the licensed work in any medium or format. Users may also adapt, transform, translate, or build upon the work, including for commercial purposes, provided that the conditions of the licence are satisfied.

Users must give appropriate credit to the original author or authors, provide a reference to the licence, indicate whether changes have been made, and retain applicable attribution and copyright notices.

Attribution must not suggest that the original authors, IJMI, or the publisher endorse the user or the manner in which the work is reused.

The licence does not permit users to impose additional legal or technological restrictions that would prevent others from exercising the rights granted under CC BY 4.0.

The full licence terms are available at:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

5. Open Access and Public Availability

IJMI operates as an open-access scholarly journal. Published articles are made freely available online without subscription fees or payment requirements for readers.

Readers may access, read, download, share, and reuse published articles in accordance with the applicable Creative Commons licence.

The journal supports the dissemination of scholarly knowledge across institutional, disciplinary, and geographical boundaries and seeks to facilitate access to research for academic communities, practitioners, policymakers, and the wider public.

Open access to published articles does not remove the obligation to acknowledge authorship, respect applicable licence conditions, or comply with relevant ethical and legal requirements.

6. Author Rights and Repository Deposits

Authors may deposit, distribute, and share their published articles through institutional repositories, disciplinary repositories, personal academic websites, research profiles, and other appropriate scholarly platforms.

Authors are encouraged to identify the article's original publication in IJMI and provide a link to the journal's published version where available.

The published version may be shared in accordance with the CC BY 4.0 licence, subject to any clearly identified restrictions relating to third-party materials.

Authors may also reuse their own published work in subsequent scholarly activities, teaching materials, presentations, and other publications, provided that the original IJMI publication is appropriately acknowledged and the reuse complies with relevant publication ethics requirements.

Reuse of substantial material in a new scholarly publication should be transparently disclosed where necessary to avoid misleading claims of originality or duplicate publication.

7. Third-Party Materials and Permissions

Authors are responsible for identifying any material included in their manuscripts for which copyright or other intellectual property rights are held by third parties.

Such material may include photographs, illustrations, figures, tables, maps, questionnaires, instruments, extensive quotations, or other protected content.

Where permission is legally required, authors must obtain appropriate authorization before publication and provide evidence of permission if requested by the editorial team.

Authors must ensure that the use of third-party materials is consistent with the intended publication and distribution of the article under CC BY 4.0.

Where third-party material is not covered by the article's Creative Commons licence, the applicable copyright status or reuse restriction must be clearly indicated through an appropriate credit line or notice.

The inclusion of third-party material in an open-access article does not automatically make that material available for unrestricted reuse.

8. Responsibilities of Users and Reusers

Individuals and organizations reusing IJMI articles must comply with the conditions of the applicable licence and respect the moral rights and other legally protected interests of authors.

Appropriate attribution should ordinarily identify the author or authors, article title, journal title, publication details, and available persistent identifier or publication link.

Where a published work has been modified, translated, adapted, or otherwise transformed, the nature of the changes must be indicated in accordance with the licence requirements.

Users must not misrepresent the original findings, attribute modified interpretations to the original authors without justification, or imply endorsement by IJMI.

The Creative Commons licence does not independently grant rights concerning trademarks, privacy, publicity, confidential information, or other rights that may apply separately to particular materials or uses.

9. Copyright Concerns and Disputes

IJMI takes reasonable steps to address concerns relating to copyright infringement, unauthorized reproduction, improper attribution, or the publication of materials without the necessary permissions.

Individuals who believe that published content infringes their rights may contact the journal through its official communication channels, providing sufficient information to identify the material and explain the nature of the concern.

The editorial team may request clarification or supporting documentation from the parties concerned and determine whether further action is appropriate.

Depending on the circumstances, corrective measures may include amendment of attribution information, clarification of licensing terms, replacement or removal of particular materials, publication of a correction, or other action consistent with applicable legal and publication ethics requirements.

Where a concern affects the integrity or continued availability of a published article, the matter may be considered under the journal's procedures for corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.

10. Policy Administration and Compliance

Authors are expected to review and comply with the journal's copyright and licensing requirements before submitting their manuscripts.

Acceptance of a manuscript for publication is subject to the authors' confirmation that the necessary publication rights and permissions have been secured.

IJMI may revise this policy where necessary to reflect developments in copyright law, open-access publishing practices, Creative Commons licensing, or the journal's operational requirements.

Any changes to the journal's licensing arrangements will be communicated through its official publication policies and applied in a manner consistent with the rights and licences associated with previously published articles.