World Bridge University

WBU Repository — Institutional Policy

Licensing Information

The licences under which works in the WBU Scholarly Repository are made available, and guidance for authors and users on their rights and obligations.

Last reviewed and approved: January 2025 ·  Office of Academic Affairs, World Bridge University

1. Default Repository Licence

Unless an alternative licence is expressly specified by the depositing author and approved by the Office of Academic Affairs at the time of submission, all works published in the WBU Scholarly Repository are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).

The full legal text of the CC BY 4.0 licence is available at: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

2. What CC BY 4.0 Permits

Under the CC BY 4.0 licence, any user of a Repository work is free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, for any purpose, including commercially
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercially

These freedoms cannot be revoked by the licensor, provided the user complies with the licence terms.

3. Conditions of CC BY 4.0

Any use of CC BY 4.0-licensed content must comply with the following conditions:

  • Attribution: You must give appropriate credit to the original author(s), provide a link to the licence, and indicate if any changes were made. Attribution should be given in a manner reasonable to the medium and context of use, without suggesting that the licensor endorses your use.
  • No additional restrictions: You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the licence permits.

4. Recommended Attribution Format

When citing or adapting a work from the Repository, users are encouraged to use the following attribution format:

[Author Surname, Given Name]. ([Year]). [Title of Work]. World Bridge University Scholarly Repository. [URL or DOI]. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

5. Alternative Licensing Options

Authors who require a licence other than CC BY 4.0 may request an alternative at the time of submission. The following alternative Creative Commons licences are supported by the Repository:

  • CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-ShareAlike) — Permits sharing and adaptation provided that derivative works are distributed under the same or a compatible licence
  • CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial) — Permits sharing and adaptation for non-commercial purposes only
  • CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike) — Combines non-commercial and share-alike conditions
  • CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution-NoDerivatives) — Permits redistribution but not adaptation or transformation of the work
  • CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) — Author waives all copyright and neighbouring rights to the extent possible under law

Requests for all-rights-reserved or fully restricted licensing must be accompanied by a written justification and are subject to approval by the Office of Academic Affairs. Such works will be archived with metadata only; the full text will not be publicly accessible.

6. Licences Do Not Affect Author Copyright

The application of an open-access licence to a work deposited in the Repository does not constitute a transfer of copyright ownership. The author(s) retain full copyright in the work and remain free to enter into additional licensing arrangements with publishers, commercial entities, or other parties, provided that any such arrangements do not conflict with rights already granted to users under the Repository licence.

7. Third-Party Content and Permissions

Where a deposited work contains third-party material (such as figures, tables, photographs, or extended quotations) reproduced with permission, the licence applicable to the work as a whole may not extend to such third-party content. Users wishing to reuse or adapt third-party content within a Repository work must seek separate permission from the relevant rights holder(s).

Authors are required to identify any third-party content included in their work at the time of submission and to confirm that they hold appropriate permissions for its inclusion in an openly licensed publication.

8. Institutional Licence to Archive

By submitting a work to the Repository, the author grants World Bridge University a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, preserve, and provide open access to the work via the Repository and any successor service or infrastructure, in perpetuity. This institutional archiving licence is distinct from and in addition to the public use licence (e.g., CC BY 4.0) applied to the work.

9. Further Guidance

Authors with questions about licensing options, the implications of specific licences for their work, or publisher compatibility with open-access deposit are invited to contact the Office of Academic Affairs at repository@worldbridgeuniversity.edu. The University also recommends consulting the Creative Commons licence chooser for guidance on selecting an appropriate licence.

Policy Authority: All repository policies are established and maintained by the Office of Academic Affairs, World Bridge University. These policies are subject to periodic review and revision. For enquiries, contact repository@worldbridgeuniversity.edu.