Hi.
I have a question.
Say that I write up an article, and then I am interested in publishing it on a journal, and I want to send it to a journal to let them read it and decide if they want to use it.
How do I know they won't just "steal" it? (OK maybe they won't do it in an obvious way, maybe they just steal the idea, etc).

So, mainly my question is:
Can I copyright my work that I am about to send them? Because I heard that the copyright of published articles belongs to the journal, not the writers.

Thanks.

The article writers own the copyright in the article once written. If accepted by a journal the usual arrangement that the writers agree to is that the journal owns copyright of the article once published.

You cannot be sure that your ideas won't be stolen. But there is very little chance of this. Academia tends not to work that way. Editors and reviewers tend to be honest. The best way to avoid this happening is not to send in articles for submission. But then you can miss out on a lot.

Disputing copyright over an article/idea if you thought it had been stolen would be a matter for the courts anyway, and would be very expensive to pursue in terms of legal fees.

But this should not happen. I send lots of articles off to journals without worrying about this sort of thing. As do other academics I know.

Thanks for your reply.
So if I understand correctly, the copyright belongs to the writers, and only transfers to the journal IF the article gets published.

Thanks for your reply.
So if I understand correctly, the copyright belongs to the writers, and only transfers to the journal IF the article gets published.

Yes.