Copyright Terms

1. Introduction

This document outlines the copyright policy and terms governing articles published in the Niger Delta Journal of Philosophy & African Values. We are committed to supporting authors' rights while facilitating the widest possible dissemination of scholarly research.

2. Copyright Ownership

Authors Retain Copyright

Authors retain full copyright ownership of their published articles. NDJOP does not require copyright transfer from authors.

By submitting an article to NDJOP, authors grant the journal:

Non-exclusive publishing rights: The right to publish the article in print and electronic formats
First publication rights: The right to be the first publisher of the article
Distribution rights: The right to distribute the article through our website and partner indexing services
Archival rights: The right to archive and preserve the article in perpetuity

3. Author Rights and Responsibilities

What Authors Can Do:

Reuse their article in full or in part for their own purposes (e.g., teaching, presentations, thesis/dissertation)
Post the published version on their personal website or institutional repository
Share preprints or accepted manuscripts on preprint servers (e.g., PhilPapers, Academia.edu)
Include the article in future books or edited collections (with proper citation to the original publication)
Translate the article into other languages
Create derivative works based on the article (subject to the Creative Commons license terms)

Author Responsibilities:

Ensure the article is original and does not infringe on any third-party copyrights
Obtain permission for any third-party materials included in the article (images, extended quotations, etc.)
Provide proper attribution when reusing the article published in NDJOP
Acknowledge NDJOP as the original publisher when depositing in repositories or reusing elsewhere

4. Creative Commons Licensing

All articles are published under Creative Commons licenses that define how the work can be reused by others. The default license is CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, but authors may choose other Creative Commons licenses during submission.

Default License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

This license allows others to download and share articles with proper attribution, but does not permit commercial use or creation of derivative works.

For detailed information about available licenses and their terms, please visit our License Terms page.

5. Third-Party Materials

If your article includes materials owned by third parties (such as figures, tables, photographs, or extended quotations):

You must obtain written permission from the copyright holder before submission
Provide proper attribution and citation for the source material
Include a statement acknowledging permission to reproduce the material
Understand that NDJOP cannot grant permissions for third-party materials on your behalf

Note: Fair use exceptions may apply for scholarly quotations and criticism, but authors bear responsibility for determining if their use qualifies as fair use under applicable copyright law.

6. Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism

NDJOP takes copyright infringement and plagiarism seriously:

All submissions are screened for plagiarism using detection software
Authors must declare any potential conflicts or prior publications
Articles found to contain substantial plagiarism or copyright violations will be rejected or retracted
Authors may be prohibited from future submissions if found guilty of copyright infringement

If you believe an article published in NDJOP infringes your copyright, please contact us immediately at [email protected] with:

Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
Identification of the material in NDJOP that is allegedly infringing
Your contact information and a statement of good faith belief

7. Open Access and Copyright

NDJOP operates under a Gold Open Access model. This means:

Authors retain copyright while granting NDJOP non-exclusive publishing rights.

Readers can access articles freely without subscription or payment barriers.

Creative Commons licenses govern how the article can be reused and shared by others.

Learn more about our Open Access Policy.

8. Proper Attribution

When reusing or citing articles published in NDJOP, please include:

Full author name(s)
Article title
Journal name: Niger Delta Journal of Philosophy & African Values
Year of publication
Volume and issue number
Page numbers
DOI (when available)
License information (e.g., "Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0")

Example Citation:

Smith, J. (2024). The Philosophy of Ubuntu in Contemporary Ethics. Niger Delta Journal of Philosophy & African Values, 5(1), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.xxxxx/ndjop.2024.001. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

9. Preservation and Archiving

As copyright holders, authors benefit from NDJOP's comprehensive preservation strategy that ensures their work remains accessible for future generations:

Permanent Preservation

All articles are assigned permanent Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through Crossref
Content is preserved in archival-quality PDF/A format and XML
Multiple geographic backups ensure protection against data loss
Articles remain accessible even if the journal ceases publication

Institutional Archiving

Articles are deposited in Niger Delta University's institutional repository
Cooperation with national library and archives
Metadata submitted to multiple indexing services for discoverability

This preservation commitment protects your copyright and ensures your scholarly contribution remains part of the permanent academic record. For more details, see our Open Access Policy page.

10. Duration of Copyright

Copyright in your article lasts for the duration specified by applicable copyright law in your jurisdiction. Typically, this is:

The lifetime of the author plus 50-70 years (varies by country)
For works of joint authorship, the lifetime of the last surviving author plus 50-70 years

11. Questions and Contact

If you have questions about copyright terms, permissions, or licensing:

Email: [email protected]
Subject Line: Copyright Inquiry - [Your Article Title or Topic]

Niger Delta Journal of Philosophy & African Values