Copyright Notice

Copyright Notice

This notice defines the formal copyright, licensing, and reuse terms for all scholarly content published in Innovations in Science, Technology, and Society (ISTS) , ensuring legal transparency and full compliance with international open-access best practices while respecting the nuanced and often sensitive nature of research at the intersection of science, technology, and society.

1. Copyright Ownership
Authors retain the copyright of their original research and scholarly contributions. By submitting to and publishing with ISTS, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive, irrevocable license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and archive the definitive version of the work in all formats and media under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

2. Open Access Licensing
To maximize the dissemination of research on innovations in science, technology, and society while protecting the integrity and ethical considerations of authors' work, each article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. This license grants any user the worldwide, royalty-free right to:

  • Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

These permissions are granted subject to the following conditions:

  • Attribution: Users must credit the author(s) and cite Innovations in Science, Technology, and Society (ISTS) as the original source of publication, provide a hyperlink to the license, and indicate if any changes were made (though modified versions may not be distributed).

  • NonCommercial: The material may not be used for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the copyright holder. Commercial purposes include, but are not limited to, use by corporations, technology companies, consulting firms, or any entity primarily aiming for commercial gain.

  • NoDerivatives: If users remix, transform, translate, or build upon the material, they may not distribute the modified material. Only verbatim copies may be shared.

3. Rights and Responsibilities

  • Author Rights and Self-Archiving: Authors are expressly permitted and encouraged to deposit the final published PDF (version of record) in institutional repositories, subject repositories, preprint servers, personal websites, and academic social networks including ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net/) and Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/). Authors may reuse their own work in future publications, presentations, theses, or teaching materials without obtaining further permission, provided the original ISTS publication is appropriately cited. For commercial use or creation of derivative works, authors should contact the editorial office for guidance.

  • Third-Party Content: Authors are solely responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder for any third-party material (e.g., images, illustrations, photographs, diagrams, technical drawings, extended quotations, proprietary datasets, software screenshots, archival materials) included in their manuscript. Proof of permission must be provided to the editorial office upon request. Proper attribution must accompany all reused content.

  • Publisher Archiving and Preservation: Innovations in Science, Technology, and Society (ISTS) ensures the long-term preservation and perpetual accessibility of all published content through participation in trusted digital preservation networks. These include:

These systems create distributed archives among participating libraries worldwide, guaranteeing that all content remains permanently available to the global research community even in the event the journal ceases publication.

4. Ethical Standards and Scholarly Integrity

Authors must confirm that their submission is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under simultaneous consideration by another publication. Manuscripts must be free from plagiarism, data fabrication, or any other unethical practices. Innovations in Science, Technology, and Society (ISTS) adheres to the principles, policies, and flowcharts of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) : https://publicationethics.org. The journal also encourages adherence to discipline-specific guidelines and standards, including:

Any allegations of plagiarism, copyright infringement, data fabrication, ethical approval violations, or other misconduct will be investigated promptly and thoroughly in accordance with COPE guidelines.

5. Research Ethics and Compliance

  • Human Subjects Research: For research involving human subjects, surveys, interviews, or ethnographic methods (common in science and technology studies), authors must confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with relevant ethical guidelines and that informed consent was obtained where appropriate. A statement of ethical approval from an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee must be included in the manuscript where applicable.

  • Emerging Technologies and Dual-Use Research: For research involving emerging technologies with potential dual-use implications (e.g., artificial intelligence, biotechnology, nanotechnology, cybersecurity), authors should consider the broader societal implications and ethical dimensions of their work. The journal encourages reflection on responsible innovation and the potential consequences of technological development.

  • Data Privacy and Protection: For research involving personal data, digital traces, or information collected from online platforms, authors must ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and institutional policies regarding privacy and data security.

  • Indigenous Knowledge and Community Engagement: For research involving Indigenous knowledge, traditional practices, or collaboration with communities, authors must confirm that engagement was conducted respectfully, that free, prior, and informed consent was obtained, and that the research provides benefits to the community in accordance with relevant guidelines such as:

  • Data Availability and Transparency: While the CC BY-NC-ND license restricts distribution of modified versions, authors are encouraged to make their underlying data, code, and materials available in recognized repositories or through supplementary files to support verification and replication, in accordance with the FAIR Data Principles and best practices in their discipline. A data availability statement should be included in all manuscripts.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage: Authors must disclose any use of artificial intelligence or large language models in the preparation of their manuscript, including in writing, data analysis, or figure generation, in accordance with the journal's AI policy and COPE guidance. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

  • Conflict of Interest: Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation. This includes funding sources, consulting relationships, affiliations with technology companies, or involvement in policy advocacy.

6. Commercial Use Requests

Organizations or individuals seeking to use ISTS content for commercial purposes (e.g., inclusion in corporate reports, training materials, commercial databases, technology products, or products for sale) should contact the editorial office for permission. Such requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, considering the nature of the proposed use and the rights of the copyright holders.

7. Policy Updates

ISTS reserves the right to update this copyright and licensing policy as standards of publishing, copyright legislation, and open access practices evolve. All amendments will be clearly published on the journal's webpage.