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TRANSFER OF COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT

Scientific publishers and authors share a common interest in the protection of copyright: authors principally because they want their creative works to be protected from plagiarism and other unlawful uses, publishers because they need to protect their work and investment in the production, marketing and distribution of the article written by the author. In order to do so effectively, publishers need a formal written transfer of copyright from the author(s) for each article published. We therefore ask you to complete and return this form promptly, retaining a copy for your records. Your cooperation is essential and appreciated.

Article entitled: Title

Author(s): Authors

To be published in the journal: *** Journal

Effective upon acceptance for publication, copyright (including all rights thereunder and the right to obtain copyright registration in the name of the publisher, whether separately or as a part of a journal issue or otherwise) in the above article is hereby transferred throughout the world and for the full term and all extensions and renewals thereof, to:

**** Science Country (City)

This transfer includes the right to adapt the article for use in conjunction with computer systems and programs, including reproduction or publication in machine-readable form and incorporation in retrieval systems.

Rights of authors

**** Science Country (City) recognizes the retention of the following rights by the author(s):

1. Patent and trademark rights and rights to any process or procedure described in the article.

2. The right to photocopy or make single electronic copies of the article for their own personal use, including for their own classroom use, or for the personal use of colleagues, provided the copies are not offered for sale and are not distributed in a systematic way outside of their employing institution (e.g. via an e-mail list or public file server). Posting of the article on a secure network (not accessible to the public) within the author's institution is permitted.

3. The right, subsequent to publication, to use the article or any part thereof free of charge in a printed compilation of works of their own, such as collected writings or lecture notes.

Note:

All copies, paper or electronic, or other use of the information must include an indication of the **** Science Country (City) copyright and a full citation of the journal source. Please refer requests for all uses not included above, including the authorization of third parties to reproduce or otherwise use all or part of the article (includingfigures and tables), to **** Science B.V., Rights & Permissions Department, P.O. Box ** City.

Authorship

If the article was prepared jointly with other author(s), the signing author has informed the co-author(s) of the terms of this copyright transfer and is signing on their behalf as their agent and represents that he or she is authorized to do so. Please confirm by checking the appropriate box following the signature line. The signing author shall bear the responsibility for designating the co-author(s) and must inform Elsevier Science of any changes in authorship.

If copyright is held by the employer, the employer or an authorized representative of the ernployer must sign. If the author signs, it is understood that this is with the authorization of the employer and the employer's acceptance of the terms of the transfer. Please confirm by checking the appropriate box following the signature line.

If the author is a U.S. Government employee and this work was done in that capacity, the copyright transfer applies only to the extent allowed by U.S. Iaw and the author should sign this fonn. If at least one author is not a Government employee, that author should sign the copyright transfer form. Please confirm by checking the appropriate box following the signature line.

Warranties

The author(s) warrant(s) that the article is the author's original work and has not been published before. The author(s) warrant(s) that the article contains no libelous or other unlawful statements, and does not infringe on the rights of others. If excerpts from copyrighted works are included, the author(s) has (have) obtained or will obtain written permission from the copyright owners and will credit the sources in the article.

Preprints

The author(s) must agree that if a prior version of this work (normally a preprint) has been posted to an electronic public server, they will not update and/or replace this prior version in order to make it identical in contents to the final published version.

Signature of copyright owner(s)

Name (printed)

Title (if employer representative)

Company or institution

Date

ATTACH ADDITIONAL SIGNATURE PAGE AS NECESSARY

If any of the following apply, please check the box(es):

[] author on behalf of all co-authors

[] employer representative

[] employee of the U,S, government

Please retain a copy of this form for your files and return the original to:

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