Copyright & Licensing Policy

Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL) is committed to promoting responsible scholarly communication, author rights, open access, and lawful reuse of published research.

JEDL publishes its scholarly content under a transparent licensing framework that allows readers to access, share, and reuse published work while ensuring appropriate attribution and protecting the rights of authors.

JEDL currently applies the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license to its published articles, subject to the terms described below.

1. Purpose

The purposes of this policy are to:

clarify copyright ownership of articles published by JEDL;
explain the rights retained by authors;
establish the license under which JEDL articles may be reused;
promote lawful sharing and dissemination of research;
establish requirements for attribution;
clarify the treatment of third-party copyrighted material;
explain author responsibilities concerning permissions;
protect the integrity of the scholarly record;
provide transparent guidance concerning commercial and non-commercial reuse.

2. Copyright Ownership

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, copyright in the original article remains with the author(s).

Publication in JEDL does not require authors to transfer ownership of copyright to the journal.

Authors retain ownership of their intellectual work while granting JEDL the necessary rights to publish, distribute, preserve, index, archive, and make the article publicly available under the applicable license.

3. License Granted to JEDL

By submitting a manuscript for publication and accepting publication by JEDL, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive right to:

publish the article;
reproduce the article;
distribute the article;
make the article publicly accessible online;
preserve the article digitally;
include the article in indexing and discovery services;
deposit the article in appropriate repositories and archival systems;
display article metadata;
create and distribute bibliographic metadata;
make the article available through persistent identifiers and scholarly communication systems.

This license does not transfer ownership of copyright from the author to JEDL.

4. Creative Commons License

JEDL publishes its articles under:

Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Under this license, users may generally:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material;

provided that the applicable license conditions are followed.

The principal conditions are:

Attribution (BY) — appropriate credit must be given;
NonCommercial (NC) — the material must not be used for commercial purposes;
ShareAlike (SA) — adaptations must be distributed under the same license or a compatible license as permitted by the applicable Creative Commons terms.

The full legal terms of the license apply to every licensed work.

5. Attribution Requirement

Anyone reusing JEDL content must provide appropriate attribution.

Attribution should normally include:

author name(s);
article title;
journal name;
publication year;
relevant volume and issue information where available;
DOI or persistent identifier where available;
a link to the original article;
the applicable Creative Commons license;
an indication of whether changes were made.

A recommended attribution format is:

Author(s). “Article Title.” Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL), volume, issue, year. DOI/persistent identifier. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Users may adapt the attribution format to the medium in which the material is reused, provided that the required information is reasonably supplied.

6. Indication of Changes

If a user modifies, translates, adapts, abridges, remixes, or otherwise changes a JEDL article, the user should clearly indicate that changes were made.

For example:

“Adapted from [Article Title] by [Author(s)], Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL), licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.”

The reuse must not imply that the original authors or JEDL endorse the modified material unless they have expressly provided such endorsement.

7. NonCommercial Requirement

The NonCommercial (NC) condition means that licensed JEDL material may not be used for purposes that are primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation, subject to the applicable Creative Commons license terms.

Examples of potentially non-commercial use may include:

teaching and educational use;
personal study;
academic research;
scholarly discussion;
non-commercial repositories;
non-commercial institutional websites;
educational presentations;
non-commercial course materials.

Users should assess their intended use against the actual Creative Commons license terms.

Where a proposed use may be commercial, users should seek appropriate permission from the relevant copyright holder before proceeding.

8. ShareAlike Requirement

Where a user creates an adaptation covered by the ShareAlike condition, the adapted material must be distributed under the same license or a license permitted by the applicable Creative Commons terms.

This requirement supports continued open sharing of derivative scholarly material.

The ShareAlike requirement does not necessarily apply to every form of reuse; users should consult the applicable Creative Commons license terms for the precise scope of the requirement.

9. Author Rights

Authors retain important rights in their work, including the right to:

be recognized as the author;
retain copyright ownership;
share the published article subject to the license;
use the article for teaching and research;
include the article in appropriate repositories;
distribute the article in accordance with the license;
refer to and build upon their published research;
use their work for academic and professional purposes consistent with the applicable license.

Publication in JEDL does not prevent authors from continuing to use their scholarly work in legitimate academic contexts.

10. Author's Responsibility for Copyright

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the submitted manuscript does not unlawfully reproduce material belonging to third parties.

Authors must obtain appropriate permission where required for:

copyrighted figures;
photographs;
tables;
diagrams;
maps;
illustrations;
substantial quotations;
datasets;
instruments;
other third-party materials.

Authors should retain evidence of permissions when appropriate.

11. Third-Party Material

Not all material appearing within a JEDL article is necessarily owned by the authors or covered by the article's Creative Commons license.

Third-party materials may include:

photographs;
figures;
maps;
datasets;
excerpts;
previously published tables;
illustrations;
trademarks;
other copyrighted material.

Where third-party material is not covered by the JEDL license, an appropriate rights or permission statement should identify that limitation where reasonably possible.

Users wishing to reuse excluded third-party material may need to obtain permission from the original rights holder.

12. Quotations

Authors may use quotations from other works where permitted by applicable copyright law and scholarly practice.

Quotations should:

be appropriately attributed;
be accurately reproduced;
comply with applicable copyright limitations;
include sufficient bibliographic information.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission where a quotation exceeds applicable legal or licensing allowances.

13. Figures, Tables, and Images

Authors must ensure that figures, tables, images, photographs, and other visual materials are:

original; or
appropriately licensed; or
used with required permission; or
otherwise lawfully reusable under applicable copyright exceptions.

Where a figure or image is subject to separate licensing terms, those terms should be clearly identified.

14. AI-Generated or AI-Assisted Material

Authors who use AI or generative AI to create or modify text, images, code, figures, or other content must comply with JEDL's AI & Generative AI Policy.

Authors remain responsible for determining whether AI-assisted material may lawfully be published and licensed.

The use of an AI system does not automatically establish that the resulting material is free of copyright or other intellectual-property restrictions.

15. Translation and Adaptation

The CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license permits certain adaptations and transformations subject to its terms.

A translation of a JEDL article may constitute an adaptation.

Anyone creating a translated version should:

provide proper attribution;
identify the original publication;
identify the translation as a translation or adaptation;
indicate that changes were made;
comply with the NonCommercial and ShareAlike requirements where applicable;
avoid implying endorsement by the original authors or JEDL.

16. Self-Archiving and Repository Deposit

Authors may share or deposit their JEDL publications in appropriate:

institutional repositories;
subject repositories;
academic profiles;
non-commercial scholarly platforms;
personal academic websites;

provided that the applicable Creative Commons license and any relevant third-party rights are respected.

Authors are encouraged to preserve the official citation and DOI/persistent identifier when sharing their work.

17. Institutional and Educational Use

JEDL encourages the educational and scholarly dissemination of its publications.

Subject to the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, articles may be used in appropriate non-commercial educational contexts, including:

university and school teaching;
lectures;
seminars;
workshops;
academic presentations;
course reading lists;
institutional repositories;
research discussions.

Proper attribution must always be maintained.

18. Commercial Reuse

The CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license does not grant unrestricted commercial reuse.

Commercial users who wish to reproduce or adapt JEDL content for commercial purposes should contact the relevant copyright holder to seek permission where required.

Examples may include:

commercial publishing;
paid databases;
commercial training materials;
commercial products;
commercial websites or services;
paid educational products;
commercial redistribution.

JEDL does not automatically grant commercial reuse rights merely because an article is openly accessible.

19. Moral Rights

The applicable Creative Commons license does not necessarily waive moral rights or other rights that cannot legally be waived.

Users must not falsely attribute modified material to an author or imply that an author endorses a modification.

Authors retain applicable rights provided under relevant law.

20. No Endorsement

Reuse of JEDL material does not imply endorsement by:

JEDL;
the Editor-in-Chief;
the editorial board;
the original authors;
affiliated institutions.

Users must not represent an adaptation, translation, quotation, or reuse as officially endorsed unless explicit authorization has been provided.

21. Trademarks and Logos

The JEDL name, logo, branding, and other identifying marks may be subject to rights separate from the Creative Commons license.

The CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license does not automatically grant permission to use:

JEDL trademarks;
logos;
institutional marks;
branding elements.

Permission should be obtained where required.

22. Copyright Infringement

JEDL takes allegations of copyright infringement seriously.

If JEDL receives a credible complaint concerning unauthorized copyrighted material, the journal may:

investigate the concern;
contact the authors;
request evidence of permission;
temporarily restrict access where appropriate;
remove or replace infringing material;
publish a correction;
withdraw or retract an article where necessary;
refer the matter to an appropriate institution or rights holder.

Actions will depend on the nature and seriousness of the alleged infringement.

23. Author Warranties

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

the work is original or appropriately attributed;
they have the necessary rights to submit the manuscript;
the manuscript does not knowingly infringe third-party copyright;
required permissions have been obtained;
third-party material has been appropriately identified;
all authors have agreed to publication;
the article can be published under the applicable JEDL licensing framework.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy of these representations.

24. Multiple Authors

Where an article has multiple authors, all authors are jointly responsible for ensuring that copyright and licensing information is accurate.

Authors should resolve copyright ownership and licensing questions among themselves before submission.

JEDL may request confirmation that all authors agree to the publication and licensing arrangements.

25. Previously Published Material

Authors must disclose substantial material previously published elsewhere.

Before submitting material to JEDL, authors should verify that they have the necessary rights to reuse:

previously published figures;
tables;
substantial text;
photographs;
datasets;
supplementary material.

Where third-party rights restrict republication, appropriate permission must be obtained.

26. Preprints

Publication of a manuscript that has previously appeared as a preprint may be acceptable subject to JEDL's Preprint & Self-Archiving Policy and applicable copyright requirements.

Authors must ensure that:

the preprint is appropriately identified;
duplicate publication does not occur;
the published article is clearly distinguished from the preprint;
copyright and licensing obligations are respected.

27. Copyright and Corrections

If a copyright or licensing error is identified after publication, JEDL may issue an appropriate correction or licensing notice.

Where necessary, the journal may:

correct the rights statement;
identify excluded third-party material;
update licensing information;
replace unauthorized material;
restrict access to specific content;
take further action under its publication ethics procedures.

28. Copyright and Retraction

Retraction of an article does not necessarily extinguish copyright ownership.

Where an article is retracted, the copyright and licensing status should continue to be interpreted according to the applicable rights framework unless otherwise stated.

JEDL may add a prominent retraction notice while maintaining the transparency of the scholarly record.

29. Open Access and Licensing

JEDL's open-access model allows readers to access published research without subscription barriers.

Open access and copyright are not identical concepts.

An article may remain copyrighted while being made openly accessible under a Creative Commons license.

JEDL therefore distinguishes between:

Copyright ownership — who owns the copyright; and
License — what users are permitted to do with the work.

Under JEDL's current model, authors retain copyright while the article is made available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, subject to the terms of that license.

30. License Version

Unless otherwise stated on an individual article, JEDL uses:

Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

The terms of the applicable Creative Commons license govern permitted reuse.

Where an article carries a different licensing statement due to a specific contractual, funding, or third-party requirement, the licensing statement attached to that article should be consulted.