Am I allowed to upload and publicly display content I authored on ResearchGate?
It is not possible for ResearchGate to specifically answer this question, but we can provide some general information which we hope will be helpful. Your ability to make content public depends upon the rights you hold in the content. If you have published your content in a journal or book, your rights are likely governed by a license agreement between you and the publisher. There are thousands of journals and they each have their own form of license. We are not privy to any them. Your right to publicly share content may depend upon the version of the content you want to upload. Some journals allow publication of non-final versions, such as drafts, pre-prints, and Accepted Manuscripts, but many restrict publication of final versions, sometimes called the Version of Record (“VOR”). Some versions of content may be subject to embargo periods imposed by the publisher. This means that after a certain period of time has passed since publication, you may be able to self-archive the content or otherwise make it publicly available. Other content is subject to Open Access licenses. Such content is often subject to much more liberal rules regarding publication but may still have certain restrictions. Your starting point for understanding any of your options and rights is the agreement you have with your publisher or other rights owner. Read it carefully to determine what rules apply to your content. Many publishers also issue helpful guidelines about their sharing policies and how their content can be used. If you’re unsure about what you’re allowed to share on ResearchGate, we recommend that you get in touch with them first. Am I allowed to privately store content on ResearchGate?
On ResearchGate, it is possible to upload content for private storage only. In this case, the content will be available only to you and your co-authors. Even if you're not permitted to publicly share a full-text version of your publication, you may be permitted to store full-texts privately for your own use. Again, we recommend that you always fully investigate and confirm that you have sufficient rights to privately store any content before doing so. Am I allowed to privately share my content with others?Who can see content I upload to ResearchGate?
ResearchGate enables members to share content privately with others. No sharing of content happens automatically. Each author must independently assess whether they have a right to share particular content with a particular person before doing so. Some publishers have specific policies that allow a certain amount of private sharing within certain confines. However, you must check your license or contact your publisher to determine the precise restrictions that apply to you and your content. Who can see content I upload to ResearchGate?
When you upload content to ResearchGate, you can choose to make it publicly available or to store it privately. Publicly available content can be viewed by anyone, regardless of whether they are registered for ResearchGate or whether they are logged in to ResearchGate. If you choose to store your content privately, it will only be visible to you and your coauthors. Is it safe to share my unpublished work on ResearchGate?
By uploading and publicly displaying your work on ResearchGate you are making it publicly available to all users of ResearchGate – both logged-in members and logged-out users. ResearchGate does not require you to relinquish any rights that you may have in that work. For some types of content, ResearchGate enables you to select a particular license which will apply to your content. For example, you may choose to make your content available subject to a Creative Commons license. If you are planning to eventually publish your work we recommend that you determine whether pre-publication may affect your ability to have your content later accepted for publication. If my article is freely available elsewhere online, does that mean I can share it freely on ResearchGate?
Just because your article is freely available elsewhere online, doesn’t necessarily mean you have the rights to share it on ResearchGate. You’ll still need to make an independent assessment about whether you have sufficient rights to publicly or privately share the content on ResearchGate before you do so. Instead of uploading my full-text, can I post a link to another location where it is available online?
There's no place on a publication page to include a link redirecting the reader to the journal's or publisher’s own page, as that's not something that we generally allow or encourage on ResearchGate.
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