In the case of publication, the authors convey the right to publish the manuscript to the Lab & Life Press. To this end the following declaration must appear on the last page of the manuscript: “On behalf of all co-authors of the manuscript on hand (insert title of article here), we ensure that the content represents original or unpublished work and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere. We also ensure that all authors named on the title page of this manuscript have contributed to the article’s development and have approved the finally submitted version. On behalf of all co-authors, we transfer the right to publish the manuscript in print and online (in parts or as a whole) to the publisher (the Lab & Life Press) and allow publication and storage in third party repositories (such as Medline, PubMed etc.), should the manuscript be accepted for publication. We retain the right to use the article for further purposes even after publication in The RDS. We assure to refer to the RDS (i.e. the Lab & Life Press) as the publisher of the original article in any cases of further utilization. The sender of the manuscript on hand declares upon submission that all co-authors have read and approved this declaration and that they agree that the declaration is effective upon submission to The RDS Editorial Board.”

The declaration does not need to be signed when you submit your manuscript. In the case of acceptance, a copyright agreement form containing the same wording as the declaration above must be signed by all co-authors and sent by post to The RDS Editorial Office before publication. Download the form for the copyright agreement here. The copyright remains with the authors as long as the manuscript is not accepted for publication. The right to use the results presented in the article for purposes other than publishing (e.g. patent licensing, commercial use, further publication etc.) remains with the author(s) even after publication in The RDS. This policy expresses the society’s and the editors’ intention to appreciate the authors’ right to retain their intellectual property. However, in all cases of further utilization the author(s) are obliged to identify The RDS as the publisher of the original article. Any utilization by others than the author(s) of the original article requires the written permission of the Lab & Life Press as the copyright holder and publisher of The RDS.