Permissions and Rights FAQ

Authors of submitted manuscripts in American Heart Association journals are required to sign an Authorship Responsibility and Copyright Transfer Agreement (CTA) or Open Access (OA) Licensing Agreement. More information on the AHA's Open Access policy can be found online here. Please visit the About page for specific information about JAHA, AHA’s Open Access journal.

The following pertains to authors who intend to sign a CTA or request permission from an AHA copyrighted article:

Q—Where can I find the CTA?
A—The CTA is completed within the online manuscript submission and peer review system. If a revision of a manuscript is requested, all authors will receive an e-mail message from the journal so that they can complete the form online.

Q—Do all authors have to complete a CTA?
A—Yes, all authors have to complete a CTA.

Q—What happens if the AHA journal does not accept a manuscript?
A—Rights revert back to the authors.

Q—Can I reuse my figures and tables in future works without asking permission?
A—Yes, authors may reuse parts of the work (eg, tables, figures) without requesting permission from the AHA. This includes using parts of the work in online presentations, webinars, and other virtual meeting events.

Q—Can I make copies of my article for my lectures, classroom teaching, and other educational use?
A—Yes, provided you cite the original source and copyright notice. See also "Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials" (section 107, title 17, US Code)

Q—Can I post my article on the Internet?
A—Corresponding authors will receive "toll-free" links to their published article. This URL can be placed on an author's personal or institutional web site. Those who click on the link will be able to access the article as it published online in the AHA journal (with or without a subscription). Should coauthors or colleagues be interested in viewing the article for their own use, authors may provide them with the URL; a copy of the article may not be forwarded electronically.

If your institution has a policy requiring your manuscript to be deposited in an institutional repository, the AHA CTA grants you those rights. The manuscript should be available in the institutional repository but made publicly accessible no earlier than 6 months after publication.

Q—My manuscript was funded in whole or part by funds from the National Institutes of Health or another funding body that requests that I deposit the "accepted version" of my manuscript on PubMedCentral or an insitutional repository. What do I do?
A—Several research funding agencies require or request authors to submit the post-acceptance manuscript (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. The AHA Journals support these requirements and additional information can be found in the Public Access Policy.

Q—I want to use figures or tables or other content from an AHA journal, but I am not an author of the original article.
A—Permission requests are handled online via RightsLink, a service of the Copyright Clearance Center. Steps to request permission are:

• Go to the online version of the AHA journal article for which you are requesting permission.
• Locate the "Request Permissions" link in the menu in the middle column of the Web page (under "Article Tools").
• A new window opens, which is Rightslink.
• Follow the step-by-step instructions for requesting permission
  1. selecting the way the content will be used
  2. creating an account, if one does not exist already
  3. accepting the terms and conditions for reuse
  4. method of payment.

For AHA Scientific Statements and Guidelines, permission to reprint, modify, alter, enhance, copy, or distribute this content must be obtained from the American Heart Association. Instructions are located at Heart.org. View the copyright permission guidelines. A link to the "Copyright Permissions Request Form" appears on the right side of the Web page.

Q—How can I order reprints of my article?
A—For questions regarding reprints, please e-mail [email protected] or call 1-866-903-6951 or order online at https://shop.lww.com/author-reprint.