Thanks

Its interesting

It is certainly a good idea that we, as authors, start growing an interest in copyright matters. In this regard, the readings suggested in previous answers are relevant. But I think it’s worth setting here the record straight about a few misconceptions.

1. Copyright in journal articles doesn’t “expire” after a few years; in fact, it expires, and the article falls into the public domain, between 50 and 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. What Arjun had in mind is rather embargo periods: among the many journals allowing authors to self-archive their article (most often the revised manuscript, not the PDF formatted by the journal), some require that it be done a certain time after publication (generally 6-12 months). But in any event, the author can’t then put a Creative Commons licence on the article because of the copyright agreement with the publisher the author signed upon acceptance.