1. Policy Statement

The UNIDEL Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technologies is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of authors, promoting responsible scholarly communication, and ensuring the ethical dissemination of engineering research and technological innovations.

This policy establishes the principles governing copyright ownership, publication rights, licensing, reproduction, distribution, and reuse of articles published in the journal.

The policy applies to all materials published by the journal, including original research articles, review papers, technical reports, case studies, short communications, and other scholarly contributions accepted for publication.

2. Copyright Ownership

Authors retain the copyright to their original manuscripts and published articles.

By submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors acknowledge that, if the manuscript is accepted, they will grant the UNIDEL Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technologies a non-exclusive licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, display, and make the article available in print and electronic formats.

This arrangement allows authors to retain ownership of their intellectual work while authorising the journal to publish and disseminate it to the academic community and the wider public.

The journal shall not claim ownership of an author's underlying research ideas, inventions, research data, or independently owned intellectual property merely because an article describing them has been published.

3. Open-Access Publishing

The journal supports open access to scholarly research to promote knowledge sharing, academic collaboration, technological development, and innovation.

Subject to the journal's adopted publishing arrangements, readers may access published articles without subscription barriers.

Users may download, read, print, and share published articles in accordance with the applicable licence, provided that they acknowledge the original authors and source of publication.

Open access does not eliminate copyright protection. Instead, it establishes transparent conditions under which published research may be accessed and reused.

4. Creative Commons Licensing

The journal proposes to publish its open-access articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0), subject to formal adoption by the journal's management.

The licence permits users to copy, redistribute, adapt, and build upon published material for lawful purposes, including commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s)

Once formally adopted, the applicable licence shall be displayed on the journal website and in each published article.

If the journal adopts a different licence, the website, author guidelines, publication agreement, and article files shall clearly state the applicable terms.

5. Rights Granted to the Journal

Upon acceptance of a manuscript, the author(s) grant the journal permission to:

1. Publish the article in electronic and, where applicable, print formats.

2. Distribute and disseminate the article through the journal website and authorised scholarly platforms.

3. Reproduce and display the article, including its tables, figures, and supplementary materials, subject to the applicable copyright and licensing terms.

4. Include the article in journal issues, archives, indexing services, and scholarly databases.

5. Preserve the article for long-term academic access and reference.

6. Use the article's bibliographic information for indexing, citation tracking, and scholarly discovery.

These permissions do not transfer ownership of the copyright to the journal. Any rights not expressly granted remain with the copyright holder, subject to the applicable licence and relevant law.

6. Authors' Rights

Authors retain the right to:

1. Use their published research for teaching, research, and other legitimate academic purposes.

2. Include their work in a thesis, dissertation, academic portfolio, or subsequent scholarly compilation.

3. Share their published article through personal websites, institutional repositories, and scholarly networks, subject to the applicable licence.

4. Reuse their own tables, figures, and other original material in subsequent publications, with appropriate acknowledgement of the original publication where necessary.

5. Deposit their articles in institutional or subject repositories.

6. Receive appropriate attribution for their scholarly contributions.

7. Retain patent and other intellectual property rights that are separate from copyright in the article, subject to applicable law, institutional policies, and prior agreements.

Authors must ensure that any subsequent use of their published work complies with the applicable licence and acknowledges the original publication.

7. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are responsible for ensuring that:

1. Their submissions are original and do not unlawfully reproduce the work of others.

2. All sources, quotations, data, images, figures, tables, and other borrowed materials are appropriately acknowledged.

3. They have obtained written permission, where required, to reproduce copyrighted material owned by third parties.

4. All co-authors have agreed to the submission and publication of the manuscript.

5. The submission does not infringe the copyright, privacy, confidentiality, or other legal rights of any individual or organisation.

6. Any third-party material included in the article is clearly identified and accompanied by the appropriate permission or licence.

7. The manuscript is not under consideration for publication elsewhere and does not constitute an unauthorised duplicate publication.

Authors shall be responsible for addressing copyright-related concerns arising from materials they submit.

8. Use of Third-Party Materials

Authors must obtain permission from the relevant copyright holders before including third-party materials where permission is legally required.

Such materials may include:

· Photographs and illustrations.

· Engineering drawings and diagrams.

· Maps and technical plans.

· Tables and figures reproduced from other publications.

· Software screenshots and proprietary technical documentation.

· Standards, specifications, and other copyrighted documents.

· Other text, images, or materials protected by copyright.

Authors must provide appropriate acknowledgements and comply with any conditions attached to the permission granted.

The journal reserves the right to request documentary evidence of permission before accepting or publishing a manuscript.

The journal's licence does not automatically cover third-party material identified in an article as being excluded from the article's general licence.

9. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, unauthorised reproduction, copyright infringement, or the misappropriation of intellectual property.

All submitted manuscripts must comply with accepted standards of academic integrity and publication ethics.

Where a suspected violation is identified, the editorial team may:

1. Request an explanation or supporting documentation from the author(s).

2. Suspend the editorial process while the concern is investigated.

3. Reject the manuscript where the violation is established before publication.

4. Correct, retract, or otherwise amend a published article when warranted.

5. Notify relevant institutions, publishers, or rights holders where appropriate.

6. Take other reasonable steps consistent with the journal's publication ethics procedures and applicable law.

Allegations shall be assessed fairly, with appropriate consideration given to the evidence and the responses of the parties involved.

10. Self-Archiving and Repository Deposit

Authors may deposit and share their published articles in personal websites, institutional repositories, and recognised subject repositories in accordance with the applicable publication licence.

Where the journal adopts CC BY 4.0, users and authors may redistribute or adapt the licensed article in accordance with that licence.

Authors are encouraged to preserve the citation details of the published version, including the article title, author names, journal title, publication year, volume, issue, page numbers where applicable, and DOI where assigned.

Where possible, authors should provide a link to the official version published by the journal.

11. Copyright Notice on Published Articles

Each published article shall contain a clear copyright and licensing statement.

"© [Year] The Author(s). This article is published by the UNIDEL Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technologies under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). The authors retain copyright. The licence permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source, a link to the licence is supplied, and any changes made are indicated."

The copyright holder, licence details, and publication information must be verified before the notice is used.

12. Copyright Complaints and Disputes

Any individual or organisation that believes an article published in the journal infringes their copyright may submit a written complaint to the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Office.

The complaint should identify the material concerned, explain the alleged infringement, and provide supporting evidence where available.

The journal shall review the complaint and may request further information from the complainant and the author(s).

Where necessary, the journal may temporarily restrict access to the disputed material while conducting an appropriate investigation.

Depending on the outcome, the journal may correct the article, publish a clarification, request removal or replacement of infringing material, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, or take other appropriate action.

All disputes shall be handled fairly, consistently, and in accordance with applicable law and the journal's publication ethics policies.

13. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Changes

The journal may correct or retract published articles where significant errors, research misconduct, copyright infringement, or other serious concerns are established.

Corrections and retractions shall be clearly identified and linked to the original article wherever technically possible.

The journal shall preserve an appropriate record of publication changes to maintain the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

A correction or retraction does not automatically eliminate the copyright or licensing obligations applicable to the original article.

14. Copyright and Institutional Ownership

Where an article is produced as part of employment, funded research, commissioned work, or an institutional project, copyright ownership may be subject to employment contracts, funding conditions, institutional intellectual property policies, or other applicable agreements.

Authors must disclose any relevant restrictions and confirm that they are authorised to grant the publication rights required by the journal.

The journal shall not require an author to grant rights that the author does not lawfully possess.

15. Policy Review and Implementation

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board shall periodically review this policy to ensure that it remains consistent with developments in scholarly publishing, intellectual property law, open-access practice, and the journal's publishing arrangements.

Any substantive amendments shall be approved by the appropriate journal authority and communicated clearly to authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders.

The version in force at the time of publication shall be identifiable in the journal's policy records.

16. Contact for Copyright Matters

Questions, permission requests, and complaints concerning copyright or licensing should be directed to:

The Editor-in-Chief
UNIDEL Journal of Engineering and Emerging Technologies
University of Delta, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria.

Email: sam.ike@unidel.edu.ng

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Policy Status: editorial approval
Effective Date: 30 August,2026
Review Date: 01 September, 2028
Responsible Authority: Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board