Terms & Conditions

Welcome to the website of the Entrepreneurship Journal for Finance and Business. These terms and conditions ("Terms and Conditions") govern your use of the website, submission platforms (including the peer-review system powered by Elsevier's Editorial Manager®), and any associated services, content, or products (collectively, the "Services") provided by the College of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University ("Publisher", "we", "us", or "our").

By accessing, browsing, or using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. These terms incorporate by reference the journal's Privacy Policy, Copyright Policy, Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, and any other guidelines or disclaimers posted on the Services. If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, please do not use the Services.

1. Intellectual Property & Content Ownership

Unless otherwise indicated, all content comprised within the Services—including text, graphics, metadata, user interfaces, visual interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, audio, video, computer code, design, layout, and arrangement of such content (collectively, the "Content")—is owned by the College of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University, its licensors, or its content providers (including authors) and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

• Open Access Articles: Entrepreneurship Journal for Finance and Business is an open-access journal. Articles published in the journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. You may share, copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work, provided appropriate attribution is given to the original authors and the journal.
• Website Materials: For parts of the website not covered by the open-access license (such as website design, logos, and system code), you are granted a limited, non-transferable, and revocable license to access and view the Content for your personal, scholarly, non-commercial, and informational use, provided you keep intact all copyright and proprietary notices.
• Restrictions: Except as permitted under the open-access license or as explicitly authorized by the Publisher in writing, you may not copy, modify, distribute, publish, reproduce, store, transmit, post, translate, create derivative works from (including using artificial intelligence tools to train models or generate derivative output), or sell, rent, or license any part of the Content.

2. Use of Services & Prohibited Activities

You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. You are prohibited from:

• Automated Extraction: Using any robots, spiders, crawlers, scrapers, or other automated downloading programs, algorithms, or devices to search, scrape, extract, deep-link, or index any Content without the Publisher's prior written permission.
• System Disruption: Engaging in activities that disrupt, disable, overburden, or impair the proper working of the Services, servers, or networks connected to the Services, or interfering with any other user's access to the website.
• Unauthorized Access: Attempting to gain unauthorized access to any portion or feature of the Services, other accounts, computer systems, or networks, including the Editorial Manager submission system, through hacking, password mining, or any other illegitimate means.
• Security Vulnerability Testing: Probing, scanning, or testing the vulnerability of the Services or network, or breaching security or authentication measures.
• Unsolicited Communications: Harvesting email addresses or personal information from the website to send unsolicited promotional material, advertising, or spam.
• Illegal and Defamatory Content: Publishing, uploading, or distributing any materials through the Services that are unlawful, defamatory, abusive, threatening, obscene, or contain viruses or other harmful software components.

3. Manuscript Submissions & Author Responsibilities

When submitting manuscripts to the journal through the peer-review platform (Elsevier's Editorial Manager®), authors must adhere to the following conditions:

• Originality & Ethics: Submissions must represent original research and must not contain plagiarized content or falsified data. Authors must comply with the journal’s official publication ethics and plagiarism policies.
• Simultaneous Submission: Manuscripts must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere while being reviewed by Entrepreneurship Journal for Finance and Business.
• Copyright & Licensing: Upon acceptance for publication, authors retain copyright of their work but grant the College of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University a non-exclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to publish, index, archive, and distribute the article under the journal's open-access license.
• Author Warranties: Authors represent and warrant that they possess all necessary rights and permissions to submit the manuscript and any accompanying figures, tables, or supplementary datasets, and that the submission does not infringe upon any third-party rights.

4. User Registration, Accounts, and Security

Certain features of the Services—particularly the manuscript submission and peer-review system—require registration and account creation.

• Accuracy of Information: You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete registration information and to promptly update such information to keep it accurate and complete.
• Credential Security: You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password. You must not permit anyone else to use your credentials to access the Services.
• Unauthorized Use: You agree to notify the Editorial Office immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security.
• Liability: The Publisher and Editorial Board are not liable for any losses or damages arising from your failure to safeguard your login credentials.

5. Disclaimer of Warranties & Liability

We aim to maintain the highest quality and availability of the Services, but they are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis.

• No Warranties: The Publisher, Editorial Board, and Editorial Staff make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the accuracy, completeness, reliability, availability, quality, or non-infringement of the Content or Services. We do not warrant that the website will operate uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components.
• Professional Responsibility: The principles, findings, and data published in Entrepreneurship Journal for Finance and Business are for informational and academic purposes. Practitioners, researchers, and users must rely on their own expertise, experience, and judgment in evaluating and applying any information, methods, or calculations published in the journal.
• Limitation of Liability: To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the College of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University, the Editorial Board, or its licensors and contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages (including loss of data, profits, or business interruption) arising out of or in connection with the use of, or inability to use, the Services or the published Content.

6. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the College of Business Economics at Al-Nahrain University, its officers, faculty, employees, agents, and the Editorial Board of the journal from and against any and all third-party claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and costs (including reasonable legal and attorneys' fees) arising out of or in connection with your violation of these Terms and Conditions, your misuse of the website or Content, or your infringement of any third-party intellectual property or privacy rights.

7. Links to Third-Party Sites

The Services may contain links to websites, databases, or platforms operated by third parties (for example, indexing services, citation engines, or the Editorial Manager submission system).

• No Endorsement: These links are provided solely for your convenience and reference. The Publisher does not endorse, control, or accept responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites.
• Linking to the Journal: You are welcome to link to the journal website or individual open-access articles, provided that the link is done in a fair and legal manner and does not imply any sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation by the journal or the publisher without our prior written consent.

8. Term, Suspension, and Termination

• Termination by Publisher: The Publisher reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without prior notice, to suspend, terminate, or restrict your access to all or part of the Services for any reason, including violation of these Terms and Conditions or conduct that we believe is harmful to the journal, other users, or the Publisher.
• Survival of Terms: Sections regarding Intellectual Property, Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, and Governing Law shall survive any termination of your access to the Services.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions and your use of the Services shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Republic of Iraq.

Any legal action, suit, or proceeding arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions shall be brought exclusively in the competent courts located in Baghdad, Iraq.