Transactions
ASME Journal Program
Guidelines and Information
Copyright Transfer

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ASME requires the execution of a copyright agreement prior to the publication of an accepted paper. This includes one of the following:

• Assignment of copyright to ASME
• Non-exclusive license to publish granted to ASME
• No copyright assignment due to governmental restrictions

It is the author's responsibility to secure company approvals required for signature on the transfer of copyright form. Government clearance on classified material should be obtained where necessary. If approvals or clearances are involved, the original manuscript should note that these have been obtained. Material not approved or cleared should be omitted from the paper. In addition, any necessary permission should be secured by the author for the use of any previously published information included in the paper.

Assignment of Copyright to ASME

This assignment is made through the completion of the Copyright Transfer Agreement (1903 Form). Execution of this form grants and assigns exclusively to ASME all rights of copyright: the rights to reproduce and distribute, perform, display, prepare derivative works, and grant third parties permission to reproduce. This form also details the rights returned to authors with regard to further use of their work.

Specific requirements are noted below.

• This form must be submitted for each paper accepted for publication by ASME.
• The form must be fully executed, with all appropriate boxes checked.
• All author signatures must be original. We will not accept forms with proxy signatures (that is, authors cannot sign on behalf of others).
• All author and co-author signatures must be secured. All authors need not sign the same form; submit separate forms can be submitted.
• Facsimiles are acceptable.
• Paper copies of forms with original signatures can be scanned to PDF and e-mailed. The full paper number must be included in the subject line of the e-mail.
• The copyright form must include the full paper number.

Non-Exclusive License to Publish

If your company or institution does not authorize you to sign the ASME Copyright Transfer Agreement or requires a licensing agreement with ASME for this specific content, please have the appropriate company representative complete the Agreement (Non-Exclusive) Form, sign, and submit to ASME in duplicate. An original signed by the ASME representative will be returned to either the company representative or the corresponding author.

• ASME accepts license agreements from companies and institutions ONLY (government institutions included). ASME does not accept license agreements from individual authors who assert copyright.
• ASME will not accept variations of this agreement or company-generated agreements. Please do not submit alternate agreements; this will only delay the process of signature completion and verifying the paper for publication.
• If the license agreement provided does not apply to ALL authors of the paper, please be advised that joint copyright with ASME may be necessary. If this is the case, the appropriate individuals will be contacted.
• If the company issuing the license agreement asserts rights to the content and other authors are involved who are not employees of this company, such company must provide documentation showing that these other authors have assigned all their rights to said company for this work.
• The license agreement should clearly state the appropriate copyright footer to be used on the published paper. In addition, this footer should be included on the final PDF version of the paper submitted to ASME by the corresponding author.
• License agreements are accepted on a paper-by-paper basis only. ASME does not accept blanket agreements from organizations for all content issued there from.

No Assignment of Copyright due to Government Restrictions

If the paper you are submitting cannot be copyrighted due to government assertion of copyright or due to a non-copyrightable status of the paper (e.g., it is already in the public domain or is issued from a government body), please note the following.

• Government institutions and organizations asserting copyright must complete the Agreement (Non-Exclusive) Form.
• For those non-copyrightable works, authors must check the appropriate boxes on the Copyright Transfer Agreement (1903 Form) and must include the following footer on the final PDF version of the paper submitted to ASME: "This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

What Material Requires a Copyright Form?

Technical material, research paper or technical briefs, requires a copyright form. Non-technical material does not.

How to Submit the Copyright Form?

We are currently not accepting electronic signatures so a paper copy of the form, containing all author signatures, can be mailed or faxed. An email attachment is acceptable (scanned PDF or Word), provided it contains all author signatures.

When to Submit the Copyright Form?

The copyright transfer form must be submitted prior to the Editor's approval of a final paper. It is important to bear in mind that accepted and approved papers will not be processed for publication without receipt of a fully executed and complete form.

Where to Submit the Copyright Form?

The copyright transfer form can be submitted directly to ASME:

ASME
Technical Publishing Department
Three Park Avenue, MS 22S1
New York, NY 10016
Fax: 212-591-7292