Under copyright law, the author of a work holds the copyright. By allowing one's work to be published in MountainRise, a publication of the Coulter Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina, the author agrees to retain the copyright, but gives MountainRise the exclusive right to first publish the work.

The published author also grants to MountainRise a nonexclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display or perform the work, in whole or in part for nonprofit, educational uses via paper copy and / or electronic medium.

The author owns the copyright for the article and is responsible for registering the article or work with the United States Copyright Office.

The author agrees to cite their work as first published in MountainRise whenever reproducing it.