Intellectual Property & Publishing Ethics Policy

The Journal of Al-Ma'moon University College (JAC) is fully committed to safeguarding the intellectual property rights of authors, promoting transparency, and upholding the highest standards of integrity throughout all stages of evaluation and scholarly publishing in accordance with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines and Open Access principles.

This policy outlines the rights and responsibilities governing copyright and licensing, editorial duties, and peer-review ethics.

1. Copyright & Licensing Policy

A. Copyright Ownership

  • Authors retain full copyright and intellectual property rights for their articles published in the Journal of Al-Ma'moon University College without restriction.

  • Upon acceptance, authors grant the journal a Right of First Publication to publish and distribute the complete manuscript open-access online.

  • The scientific findings, opinions, and statements expressed in the published work are solely those of the authors. Neither the Editorial Board nor the Journal assumes any legal or academic liability for the contents.

B. Licensing Terms

  • Articles are published open-access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

  • Under this license, readers and the global scientific community are free to:

    • Share: Copy, redistribute, and transmit the material in any medium or format.

    • Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial uses.

  • Condition: Proper credit must be given to the original author(s), the paper title, and the Journal of Al-Ma'moon University College as the original publication venue, including a direct link to the CC BY license and the Crossref DOI.

C. Self-Archiving Policy

  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to archive and deposit the final published version (Publisher's PDF) in institutional repositories, open-access archives, and academic platforms (e.g., ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Google Scholar) immediately following online publication.

2. Editorial Board Responsibilities

The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief hold full responsibility for managing editorial workflow and upholding publication ethics:

  1. Independent Editorial Decisions:

    • Acceptance or rejection of manuscripts is based solely on scientific merit, originality, clarity, and alignment with the journal's scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.

  2. Plagiarism & Misconduct Screening:

    • All incoming manuscripts undergo mandatory plagiarism screening using specialized detection software prior to peer review to ensure originality and prevent duplicate/simultaneous submissions.

  3. Confidentiality:

    • Editors and editorial staff must maintain strict confidentiality regarding all submitted manuscripts and must not disclose any details to anyone other than the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, and designated editorial advisors.

  4. Protection of Unpublished Material:

    • Unpublished material, data, or concepts disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's personal research without explicit, prior written consent from the author(s).

  5. Conflict of Interest Management:

    • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have competing, collaborative, or financial conflicts of interest with any of the authors or associated institutions.

3. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Peer reviewers play a vital role in evaluating scientific rigor and maintaining the journal’s publishing standards:

  1. Contribution to Editorial Decisions:

    • Reviewers assist the Editorial Board in making informed editorial judgments and provide constructive feedback to help authors improve their work.

  2. Confidentiality & Data Protection:

    • Manuscripts received for peer review must be treated as privileged and confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others without explicit authorization from the Editor-in-Chief.

    • Unapproved use of data or concepts obtained through peer review for personal or academic gain is strictly prohibited.

  3. Objectivity & Impartiality:

    • Reviews must be conducted objectively and neutrally. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers must express their views clearly with supporting scientific arguments.

  4. Citation & Originality Verification:

    • Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper must be reported immediately to the Editor-in-Chief.

  5. Timeliness & Recusal:

    • Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to evaluate the manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible must notify the journal administration immediately and decline the invitation.

  6. AI Policy Enforcement:

    • Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading manuscripts into Generative AI tools or using AI-assisted applications during the evaluation process to protect confidentiality and authors' intellectual property rights.