Purpose
This policy states truthfully who owns and governs LMI's publishing operation, what the publisher is responsible for, and how the publisher is held accountable — including when concerns implicate publisher leadership itself.
Ownership and Identity
Link Medical Interface (LMI) is the publisher of the journals operating under its publishing framework. LMI shall publish truthful, current and consistent publisher identification — including its legal identity, ownership, management and contact particulars — in its imprint and contact information on the LMI website, and each journal shall display on its own website an accurate statement of its publisher and ownership. LMI shall ensure that no journal misstates or obscures its ownership, management or commercial relationships, and that publisher identity is described consistently across websites, metadata and registration records. Current address and contact particulars are maintained in the publisher imprint record rather than in this policy.
Governance Responsibility
Governance of LMI's publishing activity vests in its governing body, which shall approve this policy framework and its amendments (H1), appoint and support Editors-in-Chief, ensure that each journal is adequately resourced, and receive the assurance reporting required by H2. The governing body shall not exercise, delegate to itself, or permit any owner or manager to exercise, decision authority over the acceptance or rejection of individual manuscripts; that authority belongs exclusively to journal editorial leadership under A3.
Publisher Responsibilities
- the publishing platforms and submission systems on which its journals operate;
- persistent identifiers, metadata registration and digital preservation (G1);
- financial administration, including the separation of payment from editorial decision-making (F2, A3);
- legal and administrative support, including responses to lawful demands;
- competent staffing and training support (H2);
- continuity arrangements so that published content remains available if a journal changes ownership, merges or ceases publication (G1).
LMI shall provide and maintain each of the above for every journal operating under its framework.
Accountability and Independent Handling
LMI is accountable for its own conduct. Where a credible concern implicates LMI's leadership, ownership or staff — including any allegation that publisher authority was used to influence editorial outcomes — the matter shall be handled by a person or panel independent of those implicated, under the escalation mechanism in A4. Records of such matters shall be preserved under A5 and H2, and no person shall suffer detriment for raising such a concern in good faith (A4).
Relationship to Editorial Authority
Nothing in this policy confers on LMI's owners, directors or managers any authority to compel the acceptance, rejection, correction or retraction of any manuscript or article for commercial, personal, institutional or reputational reasons. The full statement of this firewall is A3, which this policy incorporates.
Standards and Guidance
Aligned with the ownership, management and transparency expectations of the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, and informed by WAME guidance on the relationship between publishers and editors.