Copyright Ownership

Authors publishing in Annals of Surgery retain the copyright to their scholarly work.

By submitting a manuscript and, upon acceptance, publishing with the Journal, authors grant Annals of Surgery Open the non-exclusive right to publish, reproduce, archive, distribute, and promote the article as part of the Journal and its associated publishing platforms.

Authors confirm that they have the necessary rights and permissions to publish all content included in their manuscripts, including text, figures, tables, photographs, illustrations, and supplementary materials.

Open Access Policy

Annals of Surgery (ANNALSOPEN) is an Open Access journal.

All accepted articles are published to ensure immediate, free, and permanent online access for readers worldwide without subscription barriers.

Users may access published articles without charge and, subject to the applicable license, may read, download, copy, share, print, distribute, and reuse published content.

Creative Commons License

Unless otherwise stated, articles published in Annals of Surgery (ANNALSOPEN) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

Under the CC BY 4.0 License, users may:

• Read and download articles free of charge.
• Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
• Adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the work.
• Use the material for both non-commercial and commercial purposes.

These permissions are granted provided that:

• Appropriate credit is given to the original author(s).
• Proper citation of the original publication is provided.
• A link to the applicable Creative Commons license is included where appropriate.
• Any modifications made to the original work are clearly indicated.

Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts certify that:

• The submitted work is original.
• They own the copyright or have obtained permission to use all included materials.
• The manuscript does not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property rights.
• Appropriate acknowledgements and permissions have been obtained for any third-party content.

Authors remain responsible for any copyright infringement arising from materials submitted for publication.

Third-Party Material

Figures, tables, images, illustrations, datasets, or other materials reproduced from previously published sources must be accompanied by appropriate permissions where required.

Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary copyright permissions before submission. Third-party materials included in published articles remain subject to the copyright terms established by their respective owners.

Reuse of Published Articles

Subject to the applicable Creative Commons license, published articles may be:

• Shared through institutional repositories.
• Deposited in subject repositories.
• Used in educational and research activities.
• Included in scholarly databases and archives.
• Reproduced in accordance with the terms of the applicable Open Access license.

Users must always provide appropriate attribution to the original publication and authors.

Website Content

Unless otherwise specified, the design, layout, branding, graphics, editorial content, software, and other non-article materials appearing on the Website remain the intellectual property of Annals of Surgery Open or its licensors and may not be reproduced without prior written permission.

Trademarks and Third-Party Logos

Names, trademarks, service marks, and logos appearing on the Website—including those of indexing services, scholarly organizations, publishing partners, technology providers, and other third parties—remain the property of their respective owners.

Their appearance on the Website does not imply ownership, endorsement, sponsorship, partnership, or affiliation with Annals of Surgery Open unless expressly stated.

Copyright Infringement

If you believe that material published on this Website infringes your copyright or other intellectual property rights, please contact our Editorial Office with the following information:

• Identification of the copyrighted work.
• Description of the allegedly infringing material.
• The location (URL) of the material.
• Your contact information.
• Evidence supporting your ownership or authorization.
• A statement made in good faith that the reported use is unauthorized.

We will promptly investigate legitimate copyright concerns and, where appropriate, take corrective action.

Contact Information

For questions regarding this Copyright Policy or intellectual property matters, please contact:

Copyright & Legal Office Annals of Surgery (ANNALSOPEN)
Website: www.aosopen.com
Email: info@aosopen.com