What about Dr. Mendez and her student?
This pair of researchers have run into several copyright issues with their project. To start with, until
they sign it away, Dr. Mendez and her student own the copyright jointly. The journal can demand copyright
clearance on anything it wants to; there is no word limit or legislation that governs the need to do this.
When signing the contract to publish, Dr. Mendez can reserve the right to distribute on her personal web
site. Some publishers won't allow this, but many will.