Initiating open access licensing in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology to further promote ecological science and better align copyright with the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Abstract

NZES). The material with an original publication date greater than three years old may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission. This is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and in a non-derogatory manner or in a misleading context. Where the material is published or issued to others as part of a business venture and/or has an original publication date not greater than three years old permission to use it must be sought from the NZES. This material is supplied on an "as is" basis, without warranty of any kind, and the New Zealand Ecological Society Inc (NZES) will not accept liability for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, losses or expenses howsoever arising and relating to the use, or lack of use, of the data and/or information in it. Any loss or damage incurred through the use of the copy of the data and/or information shall be the responsibility of the user. The NZES makes no express or implied warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of the data/information resource or its suitability for any purpose."This requirement of copyright transfer from author to publisher is an artefact of the pre-digital era of scientific publishing where printing and distributing of hard copy scientific journals was beyond the abilities of an individual author. However, copyright transfer is no longer necessary given the advent of the internet and development of open access licences that can increase the immediate use of published research while also protecting authors within a strong legal framework (Tennant et al. 2019). While the New Zealand Journal of Ecology is currently freely available to read, the current copyright transfer requirement means that the journal is not open access, as its contents are not licensed in a way that allows immediate and open reuse. This is an important