Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

Authors must have an appropriate legal basis to include and publish all material in their manuscripts. This policy addresses attribution, permissions, and third-party rights. Copyright ownership and the journal’s publication license are specified on their dedicated pages.

1. AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITY

Identify material owned by others, including text, images, maps, instruments, musical examples, datasets, software, and archival materials. Attribution is required where appropriate but does not replace permission when permission is legally necessary.

A valid reuse basis may arise from ownership, an applicable license, specific permission, public-domain status, or an applicable legal exception. Authors must assess the basis relevant to the material and intended use rather than assume all cited material may be reproduced.

2. THIRD-PARTY MATERIAL IN CC BY 4.0 ARTICLES

Athena publishes articles under CC BY 4.0. Authors must be able to authorise that license for the material they contribute and control.

Third-party material not included under the article’s CC BY 4.0 license must carry a clear credit line identifying the rights holder, source, separate terms, and exclusion from the article license where applicable. Necessary permissions must cover the intended publication.

A clearly identified exclusion applies to that material, not to the entire article. Incompatible material must be replaced, removed, or presented under a valid, clearly explained reuse basis. The journal may request documentation before publication.

3. ATTRIBUTION AND EXISTING RIGHTS

Credit reproduced or adapted material accurately, identify modifications where required, and include applicable license links and notices. Material available online is not automatically in the public domain.

Material already available under CC BY 4.0 may be reused in accordance with that license without additional permission for the licensed rights. Athena does not impose non-commercial restrictions, approval requirements, or other additional restrictions on content validly licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Copyright permission does not necessarily resolve privacy, publicity, confidentiality, patent, or other rights. Research-participant protections are addressed under Ethical Oversight. Authors should resolve patent or contractual restrictions before making material public.

4. RIGHTS CONCERNS

Rights holders may contact the journal with the article identifier, material concerned, basis of ownership or authority, and supporting evidence. The journal assesses the claim and requests clarification from the relevant parties where appropriate.

Disputed legal ownership may require determination by a competent body. Any resulting amendment to published content follows the applicable correction or integrity policy rather than an automatic removal based solely on an allegation.

Related Policies: Copyright and Licensing define publication rights. Originality / Plagiarism governs scholarly attribution and inappropriate reuse. Preprint Policy and Repository policies govern manuscript-version sharing. Rights enquiries: athena@mediadigitalpublikasi.com.