The copyright gate¶
The single most important check in a review is: may this file be shared publicly? Getting it right protects the author and the University. This page explains how to decide.
Which version was uploaded?¶
Scholarly works exist in several versions, and they have different sharing rules:
| Version | What it is | Usually shareable? |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted | The manuscript as first sent to a publisher (pre-peer-review). | Sometimes |
| Accepted Manuscript | The author's final, peer-reviewed text — before the publisher's typesetting. | Usually yes |
| Published / Version of Record | The publisher's formatted PDF. | Usually no |
Rule of thumb
The author's Accepted Manuscript is usually OK to deposit. The publisher's Version of Record usually is not. When the wrong version was uploaded, don't approve it — either replace the file yourself via Edit, or Reject it back to the depositor with a reason asking for the Accepted Manuscript. See Reviewing a submission.
Check the publisher's policy¶
For work published elsewhere, confirm what the publisher allows:
- Go to openpolicyfinder.jisc.ac.uk (formerly SHERPA/RoMEO).
- Look up the journal or publisher.
- Read which version may be deposited, and any embargo period that applies.
If an embargo applies, the item can still be archived now with the file closed until the embargo lifts. The embargo is set on the file's access condition, not the metadata form — either the depositor sets it at upload, or you set it via Edit. See Embargo & access conditions.
Already published? Don't mint a duplicate DOI¶
Reuse the publisher's DOI — and record it the right way
If the paper already has a DOI from a journal or publisher, never mint a second Crossref DOI for it. The repository keeps the publisher's DOI as the cited identifier and assigns our own ARK as the local fallback.
Depositors record an existing DOI on the form (Identifiers → DOI), which writes it to
dc.identifier.doi. Before you approve, confirm that DOI is present on the item;
if the depositor didn't add it, add it yourself via Edit → Metadata. The minting
pipeline skips any item that already has a dc.identifier.doi, so this is what actually
prevents a duplicate. Step-by-step:
Identifiers — adding an item that already has a DOI.
Theses and original work¶
A student thesis or a report written for Amoud is original work — there's no external publisher, so it can be deposited and gets its own Amoud DOI + ARK on approval. The 50-thesis pilot is exactly this case.