Researchers are often unsure about open access copyright permissions for their journal article, preprint or thesis. What open access rights do you retain when signing the publisher agreement for a journal article? Are you permitted to self-archive in your institutional repository? Which Creative Commons licence should you select for your preprint? Your choices affect what you and others can do with your work.

This introduction deciphers the jargon and explains the pitfalls so you can understand your options and make informed decisions. It covers: open access copyright and licensing for authors of journal articles, preprints, theses; initial ownership of copyright; Copyright Transfer Agreements (CTA) and other journal publishing licences; Creative Commons (CC) licences; funder policies on licences and retaining copyright, with particular reference to the cOAlition S Rights Retention Strategy (RRS); posting to repositories, preprint servers, academic platforms; sharing and re-using work legally; where to get help.

This session can only provide guidance and does not constitute legal advice.