Overview

Vance Press is committed to promoting the wide dissemination of scientific knowledge while protecting the rights of authors and the publisher. This document outlines our copyright and licensing policies for all journals published by Vance Press, including Rock Mechanics Letters.

Copyright

1. Ownership: Authors retain the copyright for their work published in Vance Press journals.
2. Copyright Statement: All published articles will carry the following copyright statement: "© [Year] by the authors. Submitted for possible open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)."
3. Author's Rights: As copyright holders, authors have the right to:
   • Reproduce and distribute their work
   • Prepare derivative works
   • Make commercial use of their work
   • Authorize others to make any use of the work, provided proper attribution is given

Licensing

1. Open Access: All articles published in Vance Press journals are made available under an open access model.
2. Creative Commons License: We use the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license for all published articles. This license allows:
   • Sharing: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
   • Adapting: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
3. Attribution Requirements: Under the CC BY license, users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
4. No Additional Restrictions: The CC BY license prohibits the application of legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Publication Agreement

1. Author Agreement: Upon acceptance, authors are required to sign a publication agreement that:
   • Confirms their ownership of the copyright
   • Grants Vance Press the right to publish the article under the CC BY license
   • Ensures the article adheres to all Vance Press policies
2. Third-Party Materials: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use any third-party materials (e.g., figures, tables) in their articles and must ensure these are also compatible with the CC BY license.

Archiving and Preservation

1. Digital Archiving: Vance Press participates in archiving and preservation programs to ensure long-term access to published articles.
2. Self-Archiving: Authors may deposit the final published version of their article in personal or institutional repositories immediately upon publication.

Compliance with Funder Mandates

Vance Press's copyright and licensing policies are designed to be compliant with the open access mandates of major research funders worldwide.

Questions and Disputes

For any questions regarding copyright and licensing or to report potential violations, please contact our editorial office at [email protected].

Vance Press reserves the right to update this policy as necessary. Any changes will be clearly communicated on our website and to our authors.