Publishing figures in conference abstracts - will this constitute formal “publication” that will preclude our publication of this figure in journal?

Question

I have a manuscript in final stages of editing to submit it for publication, most likely to an ACS journal. My advisor would also like me to present this research in the upcoming ACS conference. I need to submit an abstract and they give the option of including a figure. I'd like to include my graphical abstract if this won't preclude submitting the same graphic later as part of the manuscript. So does a conference abstract count as "published"?

Answer 1

There are several questions hidden within this one. The first is whether you retain copyright after the abstract appears. If not, and if the figure is fairly substantial (in the information conveyed and in design elements) then you may need to seek permission from the copyright holder to reuse it. And you will also, then, need to cite the abstract. This is the same as if you want to use a long quote from an article, yours or that of another. Short quotes and standard figures don't usually require permission, but do require citation. However, TOC isn't clear to me. I assume it is more that "Table of Contents".

If you do hold copyright then reusing it, with citation, is fine. But the citation is required to avoid the issue of self plagiarism.

However, if the figure is to be reused on its own as a complete work, not part of another paper, then publishers would probably consider it as already published and therefor not now innovative. I doubt that is what you intend, but note that it is up to the publisher to make determinations about such things.

My best guess, with limited information, is that you will be permitted to reuse it even if you don't hold copyright. But you will need to ask and you will need to cite. One can, of course, make reference to ones own work and even quote from it, but there are limits on how much you can use in copyrighted work.