Copyright Statement

Author Rights and Publication Terms

In order to protect the rights of authors and the journal, the following conditions apply to all articles published in this journal: 

  • Authors guarantee that their submission is original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere, and that they have the legal right to publish all content included in the submission. Authors accept responsibility for any copyright disputes arising from their submission.
  • While copyright is retained by the authors, they grant the publisher the right to publish, preserve, and distribute the work in both print and electronic forms. 
  • Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which allows others to reuse, adapt, and share the work with proper attribution and under the same license terms. 
  • Authors are free to archive preprints and post prints in institutional or personal repositories. 
  • Authors are encouraged to share their research to foster promote collaboration and visibility, with acknowledgment of original resource with proper citation of the original source. 
  • Articles may later appear in other venues (e.g., books, compilations) as long as the journal is credited. Republication by third parties in periodicals or reprint editions requires permission from the publisher.

All articles remain permanently available for free download for scholarly use.

 

Third-Party Material (Images, Figures, Maps, Tables)

Authors are solely responsible for identifying and obtaining permission for any third-party material included in their submission, including but not limited to photographs, figures, maps, satellite images, screenshots, tables, and illustrations not created by the author(s).

Third-party material is not covered by the Creative Commons license applied to the article unless the rights holder has explicitly granted permission for such licensing.

Authors must ensure that any third-party material:

  • is in the public domain; or

  • is licensed under terms that permit reuse in an open-access publication; or

  • is accompanied by explicit written permission from the copyright holder allowing publication by the journal.

Images sourced from search engines (e.g., Google Images, Bing Images) or social media platforms do not constitute proof of permission or license and are not acceptable unless accompanied by verifiable licensing information from the original rights holder.

 

Copyright License

Articles published in this journal are licensed under:

Creative Commons Attribution‑ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY‑SA 4.0)

  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

This license lets anyone share (copy and redistribute) and adapt (remix, transform and build upon) the work, including for commercial purposes, provided that:

  1. Attribution (TASL) – you give appropriate credit to the author(s), cite the article title and journal, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made; and
  2. Share‑Alike – if you create adapted material, you must distribute it under CC BY‑SA 4.0 (or a license declared compatible by Creative Commons).

The license does not cover patent, trade‑mark or moral rights, or rights held by third parties; these remain with their respective holders.

Authors retain copyright and may reuse the article (e.g. in books, lectures or repositories) provided that the original publication in this journal is credited.

 

Author Warranties and Indemnification

By submitting a manuscript, the author(s) warrant that all content, including any third-party material, has been properly cleared for publication.

The author(s) agree to indemnify and hold harmless the publisher, editors, and journal against any claims, damages, costs, or expenses arising from a breach of these warranties, including claims related to copyright infringement.

 

Right of Removal

The publisher reserves the right to remove, replace, or redact any content (including images or figures) at any time if credible concerns are raised regarding copyright, licensing, or legal compliance. Such action may be taken without prior notice in order to limit legal exposure.

 

Corresponding Author, Co-Authorship

Only individuals who significantly contributed to the conception, design, implementation, or interpretation of the reported study should be given the privilege of authorship. When additional people contributed to the research study in a meaningful way, they should be acknowledged or identified as contributors. The final version of the work has been seen by all co-authors, who have given their approval and consent to its submission for publication.

If the article was jointly prepared by more than one author, any author submitting the manuscript warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to be agreed on this copyright and license notice (agreement) on their behalf and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this policy.

The journal will not be held liable for anything that may arise due to the author(s) internal dispute. The journal will only communicate with the corresponding author.

 

Conflict of Interest Statement

The journal defines a conflict of interest as:

“anything that interferes with or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with the full and objective presentation, commissioning, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research or non-research articles […]. A conflict of interest exists if a person or institution has a relationship, personal or otherwise, which has the potential to compromise or in any way interfere with professional objectivity or judgment in issues related to the relationship.”

Authors are not the only stakeholders who may have biases or competing interests. It is just as important for editors, editorial board members, and reviewers to disclose any potential conflicts of interest at all stages of the publication process.

 

Disclaimer

While the publisher makes reasonable efforts to ensure compliance with ethical and legal standards, the publisher does not independently verify the copyright or licensing status of all submitted material and relies on the representations and warranties provided by the author(s).

No responsibility is assumed by the publisher, co-publishers, or editors for any injury, damage, or loss resulting from actual or alleged libel, copyright infringement, privacy violations, or product liability arising from the content of published articles.