Japanese

To the authers of articles published in volumes 1-48

Memorandum on Copyrights Related to the Online Publication of "Acta Medica Nagasakiensia"

Since the year 2004, contributing authors have transferred copyrights to the Acta Medica Nagasakiensia Editorial Committee, and the journal has been revamped as an online digital publication, facilitating its development as a scientific journal with a worldwide distribution. We would like to thank the authors and other persons involved in this project for their cooperation and understanding.

Nagasaki University is currently gathering the fruits of scientific research at our institution, depositing and preserving this information in a digital repository called the "Nagasaki University Academic Output Site" (NAOSITE, http://naosite.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/) and providing it free of charge to researchers at home and abroad. The purpose of this undertaking is to contribute to the development of research at Nagasaki University and to provide enhanced services to society. The Editorial Committee is now preparing to digitalize all of the scientific articles published in the journal from its inaugural issue to 2003, which remain only in paper form to date, and to make this information widely available to the public through NAOSITE.

The year 2007 marks the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the predecessor of Nagasaki University School of Medicine, an event that has elicited wide recognition of our institution for its role as the cradle of Western medicine in Japan and for its subsequent contributions to the field of medicine and the betterment of society. At this juncture, it is highly significant, in terms of both the publication of our research results and the elucidation of scientific history, that all of the papers published in "Acta Medica Nagasakiensia" - a vivid record of this institution's accomplishments in education and research over a period of many years - can be converted to digital format and made widely available.

We are confident that all our authors will concur with this plan to digitalize the papers published to date. Written consent would normally have to be obtained from the authors of all articles published in 2003 and earlier, but, as you will certainly understand, this would demand enormous expenditures of labor, finance and time.

With regard to the copyrights involved in the present project, therefore, we present the points listed below and kindly request the persons concerned to contact the Editorial Committee.

Points

The authors or copyright successors of articles published in "Acta Medica Nagasakiensia" in 2003 or earlier are asked for their acknowledgment and understanding related to the following:

(1) The copyright of an article is not subject to change. The copyright is not transferred to the Editorial Committee but remains with the author or his/her successor.

(2) With regard to articles published in "Acta Medica Nagasakiensia" from 1939 to 2003, the copyright holders grant permission to the Editorial Committee to make digital copies of the pages of each article and to add these to the database (use of reproduction rights).

(3) The copyright holders grant permission to the Editorial Committee to make the above digital information publicly available through a network administered and operated by Nagasaki University (use of publication rights).

Copyright holders with objections or questions regarding points (2) and (3) are kindly requested to notify the Editorial Committee at the address shown below no later than the end of February 2009. The absence of any particular objection by that date will be taken to mean consent. Your understanding is appreciated.

We would like to add that, although the end of February 2009 is set as a comprehensive time limit, the Editorial Committee will continue to respond faithfully to any particular inquiries after that date.

Masatake UETANI
Chairman, Acta Medica Nagasakiensia Editorial Committee
Shigeru KOHNO
Dean, Nagasaki University School of Medicine

Contact:
Acta Medica Nagasakiensia Editorial Committee
Nagasaki University School of Medicine
1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523 Japan
TEL: +81(0)95-819-7353 FAX: +81(0)95-819-7357