The Ethics of Indemnity Clauses in Academic Publication Contracts

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Publishers ask authors to sign publication agreements with “indemnity clauses” to defend themselves from third-party lawsuits. When academics sign such agreements, who is liable if a third party sues the publisher—the author, the author’s university, the author’s faculty union, or only the publisher? This article uses a stakeholder approach to analyze the ethical implications that indemnity clauses have in academia on authors, publishers, universities, and unions. The article concludes that indemnification clauses are most advantageous to the publishers and universities involved, while the authors and unions are most disadvantaged by such provisions.