This Contributor Consent & Attribution Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into between The Science Matters, LLC (“TSM”) and the contributor(s) (“Contributor”).

1. Editorial authorship
   

   Authorship of the article, commentary, or news piece published by The Science Matters (the “Article”) shall follow one of the two models below, as agreed prior to publication:

   (a) Editorially authored articles
   Where the Article is written and produced by the editorial team of The Science Matters, the Contributor’s role is limited to proofreading, fact-checking, or providing technical verification. In such cases, the Contributor acknowledges that this role does not constitute legal authorship or co-authorship of the Article.

   (b) Contributor-authored articles
   Where the Article is written in whole or in substantial part by the Contributor, the Contributor is recognised as the editorial author of the Article for attribution purposes.

2. Consent to attribution
   The Contributor consents to being identified as the author(s), contributing expert(s), or credited academic(s) for editorial and attribution purposes only.
3. Editorial independence
   Final editorial control remains solely with The Science Matters.
4. Permission to publish and archive
   The Contributor(s) grant TSM permission to publish, distribute, archive, and promote the Article and retain it permanently.
5. Intellectual property and ownership
   Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing in advance of publication, all intellectual property rights in the Article shall belong exclusively to The Science Matters, LLC, regardless of whether the Article is written by the editorial team, the Contributor, or jointly.
6. Accuracy and good faith
   The Contributor(s) confirm feedback was given in good faith and no confidential information was disclosed.
7. Non-exclusive reuse by Contributor
   The Contributor(s) may reuse the Article for non-commercial academic, educational, or personal purposes with attribution and a link to the original publication.
8. Commercial reuse restriction
   Any commercial reuse requires prior written consent from The Science Matters, LLC.

9. Images and visual materials

   The Contributor may provide photographs, illustrations, figures, laboratory images, portraits, or other audio/vidoe visual materials (“Images”) in connection with the Article. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing:

   1. Ownership
      The Contributor retains copyright ownership of the Images they provide.
   2. Licence to The Science Matters
      The Contributor grants The Science Matters, LLC a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, edit, adapt, crop, publish, distribute, publicly display, archive, and promote the Images in connection with:
      • the Article;
      • The Science Matters website;
      • newsletters and social media;
      • editorial and promotional materials.
   3. Irrevocability
      This licence is irrevocable for Images already published, except where legally required.
   4. Rights and permissions
      The Contributor confirms that they own the Images or have the necessary rights and permissions to license them, and that the Images do not infringe third-party rights, including institutional, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions.
   5. Identifiable persons
      Where Images include identifiable individuals, the Contributor confirms that appropriate consent has been obtained for editorial publication.
   6. Credit
      Where reasonably practicable, The Science Matters will credit the Contributor or photographer alongside the Images.
10. Governing law
    This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, USA.
11. Acceptance
    Before publication, contributors are asked to provide explicit consent to this policy, typically by confirming agreement in writing (for example, via Google Form, email, or within a shared document).