AUTHOR FACES CONSEQUENCES FOR DUPLICATE SUBMISSION AND TIME-WASTING TACTICS
An author, eager for fast-track consideration due to a competing paper, approached journals A and B. While journal A committed to a swift review, journal B, unaware of the competing study, expedited the review but requested the author to condense the article into a short communication format.
The author withdrew the paper from journal B and submitted it to journal A, fearing delays. In the interim, anxiety increased, prompting the author to revisit journal B, where informal acceptance discussions took place. However, the paper was formally accepted by journal A. The author later informed journal B about the acceptance elsewhere.
COPE advised that the author had acted wrongly, constituting a case of duplicate submission. Journal B issued an official letter of censure, and the Forum recommended joint communication from journals A and B to the author's institution regarding the misuse of editorial services.
Journal B considered the matter resolved with the letter of censure, while journal A requested the author to inform his institution and coauthors. The work was eventually published by a third journal. This case highlights the consequences of unethical behavior and the importance of transparent communication among journals to address such issues.
