These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the MECS Press website, journal-specific websites, online publishing platforms, and all published scholarly content. By accessing or using any of these resources, you expressly agree to be bound by these Terms.
1. Website and Publishing Services
MECS Press provides comprehensive scholarly publishing services, including manuscript submission management, editorial assessment, coordination of independent peer review, research integrity verification, typesetting and production, DOI registration, metadata dissemination, online publication, and long-term digital preservation.
Published articles reflect the scholarly contributions and viewpoints of their respective authors. The opinions, interpretations, and conclusions expressed therein do not necessarily represent those of MECS Press, its editorial board, staff, or reviewers.
While MECS Press implements rigorous editorial oversight, peer review, and production protocols, it does not warrant the absolute accuracy, completeness, or error-free nature of every statement, methodology, calculation, result, or conclusion presented in a published article. Users are advised to independently verify and critically evaluate published information prior to reliance thereon.
2. Open Access and Content Use
All electronic articles published by MECS Press are freely available for reading, downloading, and lawful reuse in accordance with applicable open-access licensing terms.
The permitted uses of each article are governed exclusively by the copyright notice and license terms displayed on the article’s landing page or the journal’s official website. For articles published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), users may copy, distribute, adapt, and build upon the work—provided that appropriate attribution is given, a link to the license is included, and any modifications are clearly indicated.
Third-party materials (e.g., figures, tables, or excerpts) embedded in published articles remain subject to separate copyright restrictions and require direct permission from the rights holder. MECS Press names, journal titles, logos, trademarks, and website design elements are proprietary assets and are not sublicensed under any article-level open-access license.
3. Acceptable Use of Websites
Users may access, read, download, cite, and lawfully reuse published content in strict compliance with the applicable license and these Terms.
Users must not: (a) disrupt, impair, or interfere with the functionality, security, or integrity of MECS Press websites or systems; (b) attempt unauthorized access to any system or data; (c) introduce malware, viruses, or other harmful code; (d) impersonate any person or entity; (e) submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information; (f) remove, alter, or obscure copyright notices, attribution statements, or source identifiers; or (g) use MECS Press names, journal titles, or branding in a manner that misrepresents affiliation, endorsement, or authority.
4. Manuscript Submission and Publication
Submission of a manuscript does not constitute a guarantee of peer review, acceptance, or publication. All submissions undergo evaluation against the journal’s aims and scope, author guidelines, peer-review standards, publication ethics policies, and other relevant editorial criteria.
Authors bear full responsibility for the originality, factual accuracy, ethical compliance (including human/animal subject approvals and consent), authorship integrity, proper citation practice, third-party permissions, and completeness of required declarations (e.g., conflicts of interest, funding sources).
5. Article Processing Charges (APCs)
For manuscripts submitted to any MECS Press journal on or after 1 April 2026, a journal-specific Article Processing Charge (APC) applies solely upon formal acceptance for publication.
No APC is payable at the time of submission or during the peer-review process. No charge is levied for manuscripts that are rejected or withdrawn prior to acceptance.
The applicable APC amount, payment procedures, waiver policies, and related terms are publicly available on each journal’s dedicated “Author Guidelines” or “Fees” webpage. Importantly, APCs have no bearing whatsoever on reviewer selection, peer-review objectivity, editorial assessment, or publication decisions.
6. Optional Print Subscriptions
All MECS Press articles are openly accessible electronically without subscription. No electronic access fee or subscription is required.
Printed editions of MECS Press journals are available on a voluntary, opt-in basis for authors, readers, libraries, universities, research institutions, and other organizations. Print subscription fees and ordering details are published on the “Pricing and Subscriptions” page.
Print subscriptions are entirely optional and confer no advantage in manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decision-making, publication scheduling, or electronic access rights. Editorial independence and publication priority are strictly maintained irrespective of subscription status.
7. External Links
MECS Press websites may contain hyperlinks to third-party websites for reference or convenience. MECS Press exercises no control over, and expressly disclaims responsibility for, the content, accuracy, security, availability, privacy practices, or legality of such external sites.
Users who identify broken, misleading, inappropriate, or potentially harmful external links are encouraged to notify MECS Press promptly via service@mecs-press.org.
8. Corrections, Retractions, and Preservation
To uphold the integrity of the scholarly record, MECS Press reserves the right to issue corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or other formal notices as warranted.
Retracted articles remain permanently accessible in the online archive, are clearly labeled as “Retracted,” and are accompanied by a direct hyperlink to the official retraction notice. All journal content is preserved in accordance with the MECS Press Archiving and Repository Policy, ensuring long-term discoverability and authenticity.
9. Privacy and Confidentiality
Personal data and unpublished manuscript-related information are processed strictly in accordance with the MECS Press Privacy Policy and applicable international data protection standards (e.g., GDPR principles where relevant).
Information submitted through MECS Press journal management systems may be used solely for legitimate publishing purposes, including but not limited to: manuscript administration; editorial communication; peer-review coordination; production and publication; metadata registration (e.g., Crossref); payment processing; technical support; research integrity investigations; and compliance with legal or regulatory obligations.
10. Website Availability and Limitation of Liability
MECS Press employs commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the security, reliability, and continuous availability of its websites and digital content. However, uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free access cannot be guaranteed under all circumstances.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, MECS PRESS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM: (A) TEMPORARY UNAVAILABILITY OR TECHNICAL DISRUPTIONS OF ITS WEBSITES; (B) CONTENT OR ACTIVITIES ON THIRD-PARTY SITES LINKED FROM ITS PLATFORMS; (C) UNAUTHORIZED THIRD-PARTY INTERFERENCE; OR (D) RELIANCE ON PUBLISHED INFORMATION WITHOUT INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION.
11. Amendments to These Terms
MECS Press reserves the right to revise these Terms and Conditions periodically to reflect changes in publishing practices, technological infrastructure, legal requirements, or institutional policies. The most current version—including the effective date of revision—will be posted on this webpage. Continued use of MECS Press resources following such updates constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms shall first be submitted to MECS Press for good-faith negotiation and reasonable resolution.
13. Contact Information
For questions, clarifications, or concerns regarding these Terms and Conditions, please contact MECS Press at: service@mecs-press.org.
Last updated: 22 June 2026.