espace

Researchers need to be aware of the copyright statement associated with their published research before depositing to espace.

Research outputs in their published form will display a copyright statement similar to:

© Publisher/Commissioning Body 2022. All rights reserved.
© Publisher/Commissioning Body 2022. Open Access CC BY.

© The Authors 2022. All rights reserved.
© The Authors 2022. This is an open access publication under CC BY licence.

If publications do not have a copyright statement, you must assume the content is © Publisher 2022. All rights reserved.

Making research publications open access via espace

Researchers can make their research open access by depositing a copy of their publication into espace. This is known as Green Open Access, where the author publishes their research and then deposits, or ‘self-archives’, a version of the research in a freely accessible institutional repository.

Refer to the individual publication types below for more information on meeting copyright obligations, author self-archiving rights and selecting the correct version to deposit to espace.

Researchers can make their research open access by depositing a copy of their journal article into espace. The journal version suitable for public access in espace is often dependent on the journal publishing model selected by the author(s). Generally this is a choice between:

  • Open accessing publishing - published articles made freely available to everyone, subject to specific licence conditions. Payment is generally through author or funder payment of an Article Processing Charge.

  • Traditional subscription publishing - published articles made available to institutions and individuals through subscription fees or pay per view arrangements.

Open access publishing

Researchers can upload the published version or enter the DOI or URL when completing the espace Deposit Process via Elements.

Generally the published version can only be displayed in espace if the author has retained copyright or published their research under a Creative Commons licence.

Published journal articles will look similar to the following example:

Example of a published journal article

Traditional subscription publishing

Researchers are encouraged to check their publisher agreement for the journal version suitable for self-archiving in an institutional repository.

Alternatively, Open Policy Finder (formerly known as Sherpa Romeo) provides a summary of publisher’s policies, including what version of an article can be deposited to espace, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit (e.g. embargo period).

Researchers looking to simplify the espace Deposit Process, can deposit the accepted version.

The accepted version, also known as the author’s accepted manuscript, is the final version that has undergone peer review and been accepted for publication but has not yet been copy-edited and formatted for publication. The accepted version may be a Word document or a PDF.

Accepted versions (accepted manuscripts) will look similar to the following example:

Example of an accepted manuscript journal article

Prior to making full text of a published work available, the espace team checks to ensure the deposited version complies with publisher policies such as embargo periods, and copyright provisions.

Note: different provisions apply to reuse of journal articles in Higher Degree Research (HDR) theses. For more information refer to Copyright for HDR students.

Journal article version terms throughout the publishing process

Image attribution: Dr Melodie Garnier from https://unlockingresearch-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=1872

Submitted version

  • The version of the article before peer review or editing, as submitted by an author to the journal.
  • The submitted version is also know as Author’s Original Manuscript (AOM), Pre-print, Author’s first draft.
  • As the submitted version has not yet undergone peer review, this version of the article is not suitable for deposit to espace.

Accepted version

  • The version of the article that has undergone peer review, incorporated referee comments, final author revisions and been accepted for publication, but has not yet been copy-edited and formatted for publication.
  • The accepted version is also known as the Author’s Accepted Manuscript (AAM), Post-print, Author’s final draft.
  • For journal articles published under the traditional subscription model, it is the accepted version that most publishers permit researcher to deposit to espace.

Published version

  • The version of the article that has been peer reviewed, edited, formatted and typeset. It includes citation details, tagging and indexing by the publisher.
  • The published version is also known as the Version of Record (VOR) or the Final published version.
  • Generally, the published version can only be displayed in espace if the author has retained copyright or published their research under a Creative Commons licence.

For further information on Journal article version terms refer to the 3-minute Video: Understanding journal article versions




Researchers should deposit the version closest to the published version which can legally be made available.

If a researcher has published under the open access model or the publisher agreement allows the final published version to be made available in an institutional repository, deposit the published version.

For researchers publishing under the traditional subscription model, deposit the author’s accepted version.

Researchers are encouraged to save a copy of the final accepted version of their journal article once it has been accepted for publication. With the shift to article submissions via journal online portals, publishers increasingly expect the corresponding author to retain their own copy of the accepted version suitable for self-archiving in an institutional repository.

It may also be possible to obtain a copy of the accepted version of a publication via the journal’s online submission portal.

Step 1: Identify the journal’s online submission portal

From the journal’s website, locate the “Submit Your Paper” or similar option. This will generally direct you to log into the journal’s online submission portal. Note the type of online submission portal. For example:

Editorial Manager Logo

ScholarOne Manuscripts Logo

Step 2: Identify the corresponding author

The corresponding author is traditionally responsible for overseeing the online publishing process with the journal and has access to the online submission portal.

Step 3: Obtain a copy of the accepted version from the journal’s online submission portal

If you are the corresponding author simply follow the instructions for the appropriate submission portal below to locate and download a copy of the accepted version.

If you are not the corresponding author, please contact and request they download a copy of the accepted version, using the appropriate submission portal instructions.

Instructions to obtain the accepted manuscript version are available for the following online submission systems:

  • Editorial Manager
    Instructions for the corresponding author to obtain a copy of the accepted manuscript via the Editorial Manager online submission portal.

  • ScholarOne Manuscripts
    Instructions for the corresponding author to obtain a copy of the accepted manuscript via the ScholarOne Manuscript online submission portal.

If your journal accepts manuscript submissions via email or uses a bespoke submission portal, please contact your journal’s editor to request a copy of the accepted manuscript suitable for author self-archiving in espace.

Step 4: Upload the accepted manuscript to espace via Elements

For detailed instructions on depositing to espace via Elements refer to Curtin’s Elements Publications Manual, located under Elements Training in the Curtin Staff Portal.

Sherpa Romeo is a searchable database of publisher’s policies regarding the self-archiving of journal articles on the web and in Open Access repositories. Each entry provides a summary of the publisher’s policy, including what version of an article can be deposited, where it can be deposited, and any conditions that are attached to that deposit (e.g. embargo period).

For further information on navigating Sherpa Romeo refer to the 6-minute Video: Introduction to Sherpa Romeo.




Book or book chapters

The right for an author to self-archive a copy of a book or book chapter is determined by the terms of the publishing agreement.

Unfortunately there is no searchable database of publisher policies summarising the self-archiving rights for books or book chapters.

Researchers will need to refer to their publishing agreement for specific author-self archiving rights associated with the accepted version. Alternatively an author may contact their publisher for written permission to deposit the accepted version (author’s final manuscript) to espace.

Published versions of chapters or whole books are seldom permitted to be made openly available in espace unless published Open Access

Conference papers

The right for an author to self-archive a copy of a conference paper is determined by the terms of the publishing agreement.

Unfortunately there is not yet a comprehensive database of publisher policies summarising the self-archiving rights for conference papers. Open Policy Finder (formerly known as Sherpa Romeo) may provide some information on conference proceedings with valid ISSNs. Researchers will generally need to refer to their publishing agreement for specific author-self archiving rights.

Published versions of conference papers are seldom permitted to be made openly available in espace unless the author retains copyright or the proceedings are made available under an open licence.

Conferences organised by large professional organisations such as IEEE often provide specific guidelines on the version of the conference paper suitable for self-archiving in an open access repository. Alternatively authors can contact the conference organisers directly for written permission to deposit the accepted version of the publication to espace.

Conference outputs suitable for deposit to espace

Conference papers reporting on original research and published in their entirety are suitable for deposit to espace.

Presentation slides and posters are not in scope for deposit to espace.

Reports published via government, institutional or commercial organisations may not have clearly established or articulated guidelines around copyright and re-use of content.

The Report Clearance Checklist for Deposit to espace prompts researchers to consider a range of issues such as confidentially, privacy and copyright to assist in making reports openly available through espace.

The checklist also prompts researchers to consider applying a Creative Commons licence to the report or request the minting of a DOI (digital object identifier) through Curtin Library.

Navigating copyright associated with creative works can be especially complex. For example a Curtin Researcher may need to deposit a digital representation of a creative work to espace, rather than the creative work itself. This may add a layer of copyright obligations specific to the digital asset, as well as any copyright considerations associated with the original creative work.

The Creative Works Clearance Checklist for Deposit to espace is designed to prompt Curtin Researchers to consider a range of issues such as confidentially, privacy and copyright and assist in making creative works openly available through espace.