Applying for an ISBN at Deakin
What is an ISBN?
An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products published internationally. The main benefit of having an ISBN is to have data to help distinguish one publication from another - this is particularly important when two publications have the same title or a work is available in different versions.
How long does it take to get an ISBN and how much does it cost?
It is free to apply for an ISBN for Deakin works.
An ISBN can often be issued within a couple of hours, depending on copyright staff availability and the correct information being provided. However, the process can be lengthy if there are complex issues to resolve.
Can I cancel an ISBN after it has been assigned?
No. Once assigned, the ISBN cannot be deleted, cancelled or repurposed for another publication.
What is an imprint page and what information needs to be on there?
An imprint page is a page that contains key publishing and copyright information for the publication. It usually appears after the title page or at the end of the publication. At a minimum, the imprint page should have the following information:
- publisher (this will need to be Deakin University to obtain an ISBN through the Copyright Office)
- year of publication
- place of publication
- copyright information including who the copyright holder is, the year and re-use information such as Creative Commons licence or All Rights Reserved (if you do not wish to grant the public any rights without obtaining permission first from the copyright owner)
- ISBN (leave a space for one, as this can be entered once the ISBN has been issued).
Other details that can be included (if applicable) on the imprint page are:
- the name of the designer and details of the cover design
- any acknowledgements
- any funding received
- a suggested citation.
We cannot assign an ISBN until all required information is present and correct on the imprint page as the Copyright Office does not have the opportunity to review these details again once an ISBN is assigned. If your imprint page is incorrect, the Copyright Office may request you send through a corrected version.
What does the question "Who is the copyright holder?” mean?
Deakin's Intellectual Property (IP) policy advises that all scholarly works are owned by the originating staff member that created them subject to any overriding contracts.
An agreement or contract should be in place for any project that is the result of a partnership or collaboration with the University, such as a funding body or any other participants. The agreement will determine who owns the copyright in any of the research output, and who should be publishing it, if anyone.
If you are unsure, check the IP policy to identify rights in works produced by staff. The copyright team can also review your research agreement to help determine who should own the copyright in the work.
What is meant when told my copyright statement is conflicting?
A copyright statement should clearly outline what rights are held by the copyright holder and/or what rights are granted to the public for re-use. A copyright statement may be conflicting if it states that the copyright holder maintains all the rights (All Rights Reserved) but also includes a Creative Commons licence indicating the public are free to use the material with attribution.
What does the question about royalty entitlement mean?
Royalties are sometimes generated from statutory uses of publications (applied to schools, TAFEs, universities, and government uses). This can occur even when there is no cost to access your work.
If Deakin University is the copyright owner or co-owner, information about how royalty payments should be dispersed is required.
There will usually be an agreement which describes how any potential royalty income should be split between two or more copyright owners. If there is no agreement, copyright owners will have equal shares.
Where Deakin is not a copyright holder, the external parties receive any royalties. This is not managed through the Copyright Office.
What does the permissions question mean?
If there are any third-party copyright works within your work, such as images, graphics or long passages of text, you will need permission or a licence from the copyright holder to include them in the publication.
We don’t need to see all your licenses or permissions. You just need to confirm for us whether or not you have obtained licensing or permission to use and publish the content.
What if I do not have a publication date?
If you do not have a confirmed date for publication, you can submit an estimated date. If the publication timeline changes, please inform the Copyright Office accordingly so that we can update our records.
How do I know who the publisher is?
The publisher is the entity that is legally responsible for the content that appears in the work.
The publisher could be any party to an agreement relating to the publication of a work. Parties that have agreed to put out a work also need to agree on which party is 'the publisher' if a third-party publisher is not engaged to release the publication.
If your agreement does not identify which party is the publisher, the parties need to make an agreement about this before the work can be published.
If you want a Deakin ISBN, the publisher will typically be Deakin University. If you have a research agreement that states an external body should be the publisher, then normally they would provide the ISBN.
There are some circumstances where exceptions can be made, and you need to discuss the matter directly with the copyright team.
How will I know if the material should be published under Creative Commons?
Whether or not you should publish under Creative Commons (CC) depends on a few considerations.
Your research/funding/project agreements: You should consult these agreements to determine if there is a requirement for outputs to be published under a particular CC licence. If you're not sure, please contact the Copyright Office for support.
Agreement from copyright holders: If your agreements don't specify a requirement to publish under a CC licence, you need to consult with the copyright holders about what uses they would like to grant the public (if any), to determine whether a CC licence is suitable.
There are six licences available, varying in their permitted uses.
There is information available on how to choose a CC licence and considerations for licensors and licensees.
What is legal deposit?
It is a requirement under the Copyright Act (1968) that one copy of everything published in Australia be given to the National Library.
Please ensure that once your publication is finalised a legal deposit of the work is made to the National Library of Australia.
If you do not have an account, check with your School, Faculty or research centre as to whether legal deposits are centrally administrated for your area.
We encourage legal deposits to be made by a central service within the Faculty or School as they often keep records of outputs for the area.
Please see further information about legal deposit from the National Library of Australia.
Can I get an ISBN for content I created previously?
It is not standard practice to assign an ISBN to an old published work.
If your work is being re-released, such as with a new title, new edition or translated into a different language, the new publication can be allocated an ISBN.
How do I to get an ISSN?
An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is applied to a series of works that are released regularly, not an individual work. To obtain an ISSN, you will need to apply for an ISSN through the National Library of Australia.
How do I get a DOI?
A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) provides a persistent link to the location of a piece of work on the internet. Some print works also have a DOI.
To obtain a DOI for your work, please contact your librarian.