Copyright Information Point

Plagiarism and Copyright infringement: how do they relate?

Plagiarism

If you pass off the work of others as your own, you commit plagiarism. It is not relevant whether you had the intention of doing so or not. Plagiarism is a serious ethical infringement of academic integrity and constitutes an academic offense. At Maastricht University plagiarism is a violation of the Maastricht University Regulations on Academic Integrity and /or the exam regulations of your faculty. Plagiarism can further trigger serious legal consequences and could potentially lead to dismissal or expulsion from university. However, the concept of plagiarism does not exist under Dutch (civil or criminal) law.

For more information about plagiarism and how to avoid it, please check out the online Library skills module Understanding and avoiding plagiarism.

Copyright Infringement

Plagiarism is not a legal term however and cannot be traced back in Dutch law. Dutch Copyright Law (Auteurswet) recognises an infringement when amongst others:

1. you reproduce, distribute, or adapt a copyrighted work, without permission of the copyright holder, and;
2. there is no exception/ limitation available under Dutch copyright law, and;
3. you do not properly credit the source and author.

Consequently, presenting another’s work as one’s own amounts to a copyright infringement. This means that next to the ethical academic and professional consequences of a plagiarism charge you might also face a claim for violation of copyright in a civil procedure and/or even become the defendant in a criminal case.

Does plagiarism always form a copyright Infringement? Do I always need to credit the work of others so as not to commit plagiarism?

No. For works e.g. publications in the public domain an infringement would not be present. The same goes for works you use following an open access license, such as a Creative Commons License which does not require attribution (CC-BY, CC-O). In case the work is not copyrightable to begin with, or in case you received specific permission from the copyright holder there is no copyright infringement either.

Right to quote

In academia it is common to build on the knowledge of others. Whenever you do this, you need to credit your source. If you do not properly cite your source that may amount to plagiarism, as discussed in the previous topic.

Under copyright law, the creator or the copyright holder who owns the economic rights is the only person entitled to reproduce (copy) or publish the work. Consequently, when reproducing someone else’s work word for word requires securing the creator’s permission in advance. Given the frequency that such reproduction takes place in academic discourse, this would lead to an untenable situation. That is why copyright law explicitly provides for certain exceptions to copyright and to the obligation to seek the permission of the copyright holder. One of these exceptions concerns quoting from a work. According to Dutch copyright law, you have the right to quote subject to the following:

1. A quote can only be used in an announcement, assessment, polemic, scientific discourse, or an expression with a similar goal.
2. Next, all the following conditions need to be fulfilled:
   1. The work which you cite is lawfully published (disclosed). This means that you cannot quote from confidential documents e.g. a work subject to an embargo, confidential notes, or works published without permission of the copyright holder.
   2. The size or length of the quote must be proportionate to its goal and acceptable in line with ‘social standards’. This is a rather vague requirement further explained and refined in case law. The quote must be relevant and functional (not simply for making the publication more attractive) and cannot breach the economic rights of the copyright holder for the exploitation of the work.
   3. The quote is accompanied by a citation reporting the source (title, date or year of publication and issue number, medium) and the name of the creator- should the latter appear in the publication;
   4. The personality or morality rights of the creator are respected.

It is good to realise that the right to quote is not only applicable to texts and can be extended to other works e.g., images, video, sounds, etc.

Usually if an academic lives up to the highest ethical and academic standards, the legal requirements for the right to quote should be fulfilled. However, contact the Copyright Information Point in case of any ambiguities in relation to your right to quote from a work.

Easy Access Agreement​ for Universities

Rules for using extracts in teaching materials

Teaching staff use materials for tutorials, lectures etc. It is always allowed to provide a link to online materials used for a course. However, staff also share files with scientific literature and other learning resources such as graphs, and images with students on our electronic learning environment (e.g. Canvas & Keylinks). 

Although it is allowed to share brief extracts from copyrighted works for educational purposes without permission of the copyright owner, this still requires payment of a reasonable fee. Universities of The Netherlands (UNL) and the collective management organisation Uitgeversorganisatie voor Onderwijslicenties (UvO) representing the publishers have an agreement in place for 2023-2025: the Easy Access Agreement 2023. An annual lump sum is paid, which includes both brief extracts (as covered by the Dutch Copyright Act) and medium-length extracts as detailed by the Easy Access Agreement 2023. The rules distinguish between three types of extracts from copyrighted works to be used for educational purposes. The first two (brief and medium-length abstracts) are covered by the agreement. No extra permission or payment is needed. For the use of so-called long abstracts, it is necessary to request in-advance permission from UvO via its portal for which a separate fee is charged. 

The rules of the Easy Access Agreement 2023 are currently laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding, the full text of the formal agreement is not made available yet. We will update these pages as news becomes available. 

 Below you can read more about the rules that currently apply:

Brief extracts

Brief extracts are defined as:

• a maximum of 25 pages in length;  
• Images (photos, drawings, graphics, tables, figures, etc.) require special attention. These may be used in readers, PowerPoint presentations or lectures on the electronic learning environment (e.g. Canvas, Keylinks) of Maastricht University. It is agreed that a maximum of 25 images from one and the same work can be used e.g. a book, and only several (max.10) of the same creator. Do not forget to always attribute your source. 

Medium-length extracts 

Medium-length extracts are defined as: 

• an extract that does not qualify as brief; 
• a maximum of 40 pages in length (was 50 according to the previous agreement); 
• no more than 20% of the work (e.g. book or journal article) (was 25% according to the previous agreement). 

Long extracts 

Long extracts cover any extract beyond short and medium-length. They are defined as: 

•  any extract longer than 40 pages (was 50 according to the previous agreement), and; 
• more than 20% of the work in question.
   

Please note that long extracts are not covered by the lump sum payment, and prior permission by UvO or the publisher is necessary. The use of long extracts is usually very costly (price per page multiplied by the number of students participating in a course) and subject to the approval of your Faculty.  

 It might also be useful to recall the rules and the guidelines on how to link to an online resource: 

Sharing a link to an online resource 

Linking is not considered a publication within the meaning of Copyright law and requires no permission of the Copyright owner nor the payment of a fee.
E-books and e-journals are available to Maastricht University staff and students in LibSearch or specific Databases. Linking would be preferable to sharing an extract, to reduce costs in the future. Please make sure not to link to Websites where it is not clear that a publication was lawfully published e.g. Pirate Bay.  

Questions on use of extracts, images, or linking? 

The Copyright Information Point is happy to help with any questions you may have. Please, contact us. 

Linking

Library link

Go to LibSearch and search for the title. Select Maastricht University Library and the preferred format in the left column. Click on the title to open the details. Click the right mouse button on View eBook or View full text and select Copy link address (Chrome), Copy shortcut (Microsoft Edge) or Copy link location (Mozilla Firefox).

Deeplink

‘Deeplinks’ are hyperlinks that refer to files or ‘deeper’ parts of a website. In general, deep linking is allowed if the file or part of the website is shown in its original context.

For example: if you would like to link to an e-book chapter, open the e-book and go to the specific chapter. Use the URL in the URL bar, depending on the publisher’s platform.

When deep linking is not possible (i.e., in case of a restricted website), use the URL to the website and refer to the location of the publication in the reference. Always state the source when using a deep link.

Blogs or vlogs

Making of blogs or vlogs may involve the reuse of digital texts, music or images (like pictures or videos) already protected by copyright. If so, you need to get permission from the copyright owner for copying and republishing, which means that you will probably have to pay a fee.

Fortunately, there are several exceptions to this principle: the copyright owner explicitly allows reuse or there are specific legislative exceptions in place. In addition, linking to sources is free if you do not copy these sources. You may want to reuse texts, music or images showing Creative Commons licenses chosen by the copyright owner to show which kind of reuse is free. In this case, you do not have to ask permissions.

It is also possible that you want to quote parts of someone else’s work. Dutch legislation permits this reuse if the quotation is functional and not merely to make your blog or vlog attractive for the audience. For example, background music for a video is not considered functional. Quoted parts must be informative and proportional to the size of the text, piece of music or image.

Finally, make sure that you mention the names of persons responsible for the quoted parts. Likewise, provide your own name to enable users of your blog or vlog to give you credit for your creative work.

Contact the following Dutch organisations if you cannot determine how to use audio, video or images legally:

• Videma for film and video
• Buma/Stemra for music
• Pictoright for images

You may also benefit from the English information on the video support page for copyright matters relating to video.

Web lectures

A web lecture is a recording of a presentation, lecture or workshop, which is online available for students. It can include text, video-recordings, PowerPoint slides, knowledge clips and illustrations protected by copyright law.

Copyright issues regarding web lectures

These guidelines refer only to the use within the digital learning environment.

• Ask permission in advance of the persons present (teacher, student(s) or guest speaker).
• Avoid any copyright infringements; use your own educational material or Opens Access material with a Creative Commons license.
• If you use other people’s work, always ask permission in advance.
• You may quote part of (literary) texts and flims, photographs and pictures as long as they are part of the curriculum. It must not just be included as an embellishment or decoration. You may quote pictures, illustrations and photos as a whole. More information about the conditions for quoting.
• In a presentation (PowerPoint/Prezi), a maximum of 25 images / pictures can be included without permission.
• For information about creating and uploading a video or registering a lecture, go to the UM support portal for video in education and research.
• Always provide the correct source (reference)!

Images

Images include photos, drawings, graphics, tables, schedules, etc. These may be used in readers, PowerPoint presentations or lectures on the learning management system of Maastricht University.

According to the quotation right, it is allowed to reuse images without permission of the copyright holder in the following situations:

• The image has to support the content (it’s not allowed to use it just to brighten up your story).
• The size must be related to the goal you want to use it for (in practice: a short part).
• Always use a legal source and quote the source. This also applies when you want to use part of an image.
• Use copyright free material, preferably with a Creative Commons License (CC-BY). There is a search box for finding images with a CC license.
• Use digital material from the Library collection; our licenses allow the reuse of a reasonable part of the content, including images.
• Use a link to the image. Another option is embedding the link instead of downloading the image. By linking and embedding, you are referring to the image on its original location and not multiplying it. That’s, why it is allowed without copyright restrictions.
• Use your own work.
• Whenever using images from books and journals you are allowed to use a maximum of 25 images from an original work in one publication or presentation. This limit does not apply to the books/journals the UM has a library license for, or that are published Open Access.

If you cannot reuse the image according to one of these conditions, you always need permission of the copyright holder before you can use it.

Reuse of artwork images

If there is an artwork on the image then you need permission of the copyright holder, with the exception of artworks in the public domain. When the artwork stands for example, on the square in the city, or in a park, then you are allowed to reuse it, as long as it is clear that the artwork is in that public domain.

A museum is not a public domain, so you will need permission of the copyright holder!

The subject of the photograph generally has nothing to do with the ownership of the copyright in the photograph. You also need permission of the copyright holder (photographer) and have to mention his/her name, together with the photo.

Crediting the source

The most important thing when using images in i.e. PowerPoint presentations is crediting the source. You always have to mention the source, and the name of the copyright holder.

Credit the source, by naming:

• the title of the work
• the name of the creator/copyright holder
• the url, where you found the material, for example Flickr
• the type of Creative Commons license, for example CC-BY

For every single image used, credit the source separately!

Making changes to the original work

Whenever you change or adjust the original work, or combine several images, you will need the permission of the copyright holder.

Creative Commons licenses make it possible to reuse images:

• If CC-BY-ND is added to an image, then you can use the image, but you are not allowed to change the original work, so that makes it unusable for a composite.
• If you find an image with a CC-BY-SA license you are allowed to change or adjust it, but you have to license your new creation under the identical terms.

In all cases, you will have to credit the original work.

As a student and author, you hold the copyright to your thesis. The faculty should always ask your permission. After submission to the repository, you don’t lose the copyright.

Perhaps you signed an agreement with the company you did research for. Always inform the faculty if the company specifically prohibited making the information public.

As a student and author, you hold the copyright to your paper.

No, you always keep the copyright to recordings or films that you have made. Unless you have transferred the copyright to Maastricht University with a signed declaration.

However, Maastricht University can demand certain rights of use. One of those rights may be that the material included in your digital portfolio should be available electronically for a certain period, for example, so that it can be used as a study or teaching material by students or teachers.

Also, if Maastricht University has made some or all of the recording/filming possible, by financing it or providing facilities, it is reasonable for Maastricht University to have a say in the way the recording or film may be used.

Information derived from SURF & Dutch copyright in images and audio.

Information found on the internet is also protected by copyright. If you want to use the information for your thesis you need the permission of the copyright holder. Always make sure that the information is from a reliable source. You don’t need permission when:

• The copyright holder states on the website that reuse is allowed under certain conditions.
• You quote, paraphrase or refer to a part of someone else’s article or book. The quotation must be functional and it must support the context of the work in which it is included. It should not merely be for decoration. The source must be clearly indicated, completed with the name of the author.
• You create a link to other people’s publications on a website (as long as the article does not open on your own web page). More information about linking.

NOTE:
Plagiarism, presenting someone else’s work, in whole or in part, as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source (citing) is strictly forbidden. More information about how to avoid plagiarism.

Information partly derived from SURF the Dutch Copyright Act, Legal restrictions regarding copyright

You are allowed to include a part of an article or a book chapter in your thesis when:

• You quote, paraphrase or refer to a part of someone else’s article or book. The quotation must be functional and it must support the context of the work in which it is used. It should not merely be for decoration. The source must be clearly indicated, completed with the name of the author.
• You create a link to other people’s publications on a website (as long as the article does not open on your own web page). More information about linking.

NOTE:
Plagiarism, presenting someone else’s work, in whole or in part, as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source (citing) is strictly forbidden. More information about how to avoid plagiarism.

Yes, you are permitted to make a copy for personal use only. You are not permitted to give the copy to a third party without the permission of the copyright holder. This is a form of duplication of which the right is reserved to the copyright holder.

Information derived from SURF & Copyright

Plagiarism is using someone else’s work or findings without stating the source and thereby implying that the work is your own. This is a violation of copyright.

You can avoid plagiarism by using paraphrases, quotations/citations or summaries:

• Paraphrasing: rephrasing someone else’s idea, theory or design in your own words, without changing the basic idea. Always refer to the original author’s text and clearly separate the paraphrased text from your own ideas. Use paraphrases if the idea or theory is important, but the exact words less so.
• Quoting/Citing: copying someone else’s words, to describe their idea, theory or design literally. Always put the text between double quotation marks and refer to the original author’s document. Use quotations/citations if the exact words are as important as the ideas expressed. More information about quoting.
• Summarising: using your own words, to sum up the original in a shorter version.

In all three cases, you need to refer to the literature you have used according to the rules for reference described in the guidelines.

The way you should acknowledge your sources can vary. Please consult your supervisor or tutor, on the appropriate style you should use. When you find yourself confronted by terms as APA or Vancouver the University Library offers help in the form of the program EndNote, a reference manager which can format your references in the correct style.

More information on EndNote can be found by consulting the Library’s EndNote page.

Yes, you are allowed to do so.

The Dutch Copyright Act lists a number of exceptional situations in which scholarly material can be used without the permission of the copyright holder (which may be your publisher). For educational purposes this includes:

• Performance/presentation if this serves a scientific/scholarly purpose
• Quoting from a work
• Use of a section

The Dutch Copyright Act does make such use subject to a number of conditions:

• The source must be credited. More information about quoting
• The copyright holder must receive fair payment. Maastricht University signed an agreement with Stichting UvO (Publishing Organisation for Education Licences), the Dutch publication and reproduction rights organization, to buy off the copyrights. This agreement (Easy Access) has been set out in the Reader Regulation. Only extracts of up to 40 pages, with a maximum of 20% of the publication, may be used in readers without permission of the copyright holder. Please contact ub-copyright@maastrichtuniversity.nl if you want more information about the Reader Regulation.

Just because information on the internet is free accessible and downloadable, does not mean that it is not copyright protected. Copyright law also protects images, videos and drawings from the internet.

In the following cases, you can reuse material found on the internet for educational purposes:

• Use copyright free material, preferably with a Creative Commons License. There is a search box for finding images with a CC license. In this list you will find an overview of more websites with copyright free material. Always read the conditions on the website before using this material!
• It is always allowed to place a link, instead of placing a pdf. Another option is embeddingthe link instead of downloading the image. By linking and embedding you are referring to the image on its original location and not multiplying it. That’s why it is allowed without copyright restrictions.
• Check if you can use the material according to the citation right:
  • the image has to support the content (it’s not allowed to use it just to brighten up your story)
  • the size must be related to the goal you want to use it for (in practice: a short part)
  • it must come from a legal source and you have to mention the source
• Always credit the source, by naming:
  • the title of the work
  • the name of the creator
  • the url where you find the material, for example Flickr
  • the type of Creative Commons license, for example CC-BY
• In the Dutch Copyright Act, an exception for educational use applies to:
  • audiovisual works such as films, videos and television programmes;
  • audio works such as music or other sound recordings;
  • still images such as photos and works of art.
• The display of the work must form part of the study programme, and it must take place physically within the educational institution itself. For example: You can show a film taken from the Internet in a classroom during a lesson, but it does not allow you to upload it to EleUM, so that students can watch it at home.
• Use your own work. In all other cases, you always need to ask permission of the copyright holder.

You do not always need to ask permission of the copyright holder in order to use his/her work. This is because certain exceptions apply if it is to be used for educational purposes. The Dutch Copyright Act provides for an exception that you can take advantage of as a teacher:

• A copyright-protected work can be displayed or rendered without the copyright holder’s permission in the context of non-profit education (section 12(5) of the Dutch Copyright Act: display exception). This applies to audiovisual works such as films, videos and television programmes; audio works such as music or other sound recordings; and still images such as photos and works of art. The display of the work must form part of the study programme, and it must also take place physically within the educational institution itself. This exception means that you can show a film taken from the Internet in a classroom during a lesson, but it does not allow you to upload it to the digital learning environment so that students can watch it at home.

You can publish a copy in the digital learning environment if you do so solely for educational purposes. You can only use the parts of the works concerned to provide information in an educational context. This means that they must only be supplementary to and not in place of teaching. The law provides in connection with this education exception that the copyright holder should receive fair payment in return for the use of his/her work. (An agreement can, in fact, be made with the copyright holder that the fair payment should amount to zero.)

Publishing deep-links or hyperlinks is not considered as copying or publishing and is, therefore, no infringement of one’s copyrights, provided that the information is legally published. The use of hyperlinks is strongly recommended. Part of the agreement between VSNU and Stichting PRO is to promote the use of linking, in order to reduce the total amount of extracts (PDFs).

More information about linking.

No, you are only permitted to make a copy for personal use. You are not permitted to give the copy to a third party without the permission of the copyright holder. This is a form of duplication of which the right is reserved to the copyright holder.

Information derived from: SURF & Copyright

If you like to share a digital book or article it is best to share a direct and stable (deep)link to the relevant publication. Publishing deep-links or hyperlinks is not considered an act of copying or publishing and, therefore, does not lead to infringement of Copyright law, provided that the information is lawfully published.

If you would like to share an extract of a publication or share your lecture notes, you must make sure the extract complies with the rules as set out in the Easy Access Agreement 2023. For more information, please check the explanation.

If your Faculty or yourself can make use of Keylinks we advise you to use it for your course materials. In Keylinks a Copyright check is performed by the University Library. The list of references available via Keylinks can easily be accessed via the digital learninCanvas as well.

Please contact the Copyright Information Point if you want more information about the Easy Access Agreement 2023.

Academic researchers often use ResearchGate to upload the full text of their published papers. Making the full text available on ResearchGate suggests that reuse is allowed.

That is not (always) the case; most publishers do not permit placing articles on ResearchGate that are published in one of their journals, let alone that others reuse it.

Check if there is a license attached to the article that allows reuse (CC-BY license). When in doubt contact the publisher/author.

If you are the original author of an article or book, you own the copyright since you are the creator of that work. However, Maastricht University can claim the copyright from the employee. Although the exploitation rights may be vested with your employer, you always keep your moral rights, for example, the right to be cited as the author of the publication.

Copyright: transfer or license?

You can transfer copyright to a publisher; a transfer is definitive. Avoid transfer of all your rights. Prefer a license agreement, which means that you have more options, for example, to retain the right to reuse your own publication.

No. To sign a standard publishing agreement which transfers all copyrights in your work to the publisher may not be necessary, nor to your advantage.

Negotiate!

The standard contract used by your publisher is not binding as long as you do not agree. Amendments can be made if you resist the pressure from the publisher and talk to him. You can negotiate the terms of that contract so read the fine print first. Ask yourself: is it an exclusive license? Can the license be terminated?

Copyright is bundle

Copyright is a bundle of rights which can be split up. You do not need to transfer all your rights. Parts of your copyright can be licensed separately.

Before and after negotiation

The most effective technique is to strike out unwanted terms and to write in and initial the changes you want.

First, go to Sherpa/Romeo. This website enables you to check if individual publishers permit deposit in institutional repositories and if there are any copyright conditions attached. The database can be searched by publisher name or by journal title.

Negotiate!

The standard contract used by your publisher is not binding as long as you do not agree. You can negotiate the terms so try to retain your ownership and particularly the right to use the UM repository.

License to deposit

Maastricht University needs the permission of the author to include his/her work in the UM repository. To grant this permission, the author has to agree with the license to deposit. This license regulates how your publication can be made available, and under what conditions.

Seek help

There are no standard answers. The Copyright Information Point of the Maastricht University Library assists you with copyright clearance for deposit in the UM repository.

You do not need to seek permission or to pay fees if you don’t copy documents but link to the documents you want to reuse. The same applies to public domain works and, to some extent, to works under a creative commons license.

Creative Commons

When deciding which creative commons license to apply to your publication, ask yourself what types of reuse you would like to encourage, and license accordingly. The examples will help you to determine which of the six creative commons licenses to apply.

The six licenses may be combined in different ways, also to define three valid licenses for Open Access.

Permitted reuse of OA articles can be specified by the author’s choice of one of the following Creative Commons licenses considered suitable for OA:

CC BY – Creative Commons Attribution License

Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, adapt the article as long as the author is attributed. The CC BY license permits commercial and non-commercial reuse.

CC BY-NC – Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License

Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article, adapt the article as long as the author is attributed and the article is not used for commercial purposes.

CC BY-NC-ND – Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License

Allows users to copy, distribute and transmit an article as long as the author is attributed, the article is not used for commercial purposes, and the work is not modified or adapted in any way.

Sherpa/Romeo

Sherpa/Romeo enables you to see what rights are assigned to publishers and which are retained by the author. So use Sherpa/Romeo to check if individual publishers permit deposit in the UM repository and if there are any copyright conditions attached. The database can be searched by publisher name or by journal title.

Research data

When reusing raw research data, it is important to know the legal status of the material. Sometimes, the consent of the “author” or “maker” of the data is required, as shown in the checklist (only in Dutch).

You need to sign the license to deposit to make certain that you have the right to submit your work to the UM repository and to give permission to use your work. The holder of the UM repository will make your publication visible within an open access framework.

License to deposit (in Dutch)
The license to deposit is in Dutch.

Plagiarism is using someone else’s work or findings without stating the source and thereby implying that the work is your own. This is a violation of copyright.

You can avoid plagiarism by using paraphrases, quotations/citations or summaries:
• Paraphrasing: rephrasing someone else’s idea, theory or design in your own words, without changing the basic idea. Always refer to the original author’s text and clearly separate the paraphrased text from your own ideas. Use paraphrases if the idea or theory is important, but the exact words less so;
• Quoting/Citing: copying someone else’s words to describe their idea, theory or design literally. Always put the text between double quotation marks and refer to the original author’s document. Use quotations/citations if the exact words are as important as the ideas expressed. More information about quoting.
• Summarizing: using your own words, to sum up the original in a shorter version.

In all three cases, you need to refer to the literature you have used according to the rules for reference described in the guidelines.
The way you should acknowledge your sources can vary. Please consult your supervisor, or tutor, on the appropriate style you should use. When you find yourself confronted by terms as APA or Vancouver the University Library offers help in the form of the program EndNote, a reference manager which can format your references in the correct style. More information on EndNote can be found by consulting the Library’s EndNote page.

Yes, if you retained the right to use the original version of the article as it was submitted to the publisher prior to review. If not, you have to negotiate the terms of the license for the article to get a revised agreement with the publisher of that article.

Preprints

A preprint is the original version of the article as it was submitted to the publisher prior to review. Most publishers do not have problems with authors publishing preprints on the internet, particularly not when it concerns a doctoral thesis. Check the Sherpa/Romeo website to find publishers’ and journals’ policies. If the publisher or journal is not listed on this website, you have to contact the (potential) publisher.

Not all publishers allow sharing the full text on ResearchGate. If you have published your paper in a journal, you should check the publisher’s conditions for example via the Sherpa/Romeo database or check your agreement with the publisher.