Authors’ manuscripts are the private property of the authors and must be handled in a confidential manner. The editors and editorial staff of the journal are under obligation not to disclose any information related to the manuscript to anyone other than the authors and reviewers. This includes whether the manuscript has been received, its status in the review process, its contents, reviewers’ comments, or editorial decisions regarding its publication or revision.

In addition, the editors and editorial staff must caution reviewers of the confidential nature of the manuscript and any documents related to it. Reviewers cannot appropriate ideas from the manuscript before it is published, nor retain the manuscript for personal use; they must destroy or delete all copies after submission of their review.

Editors must obtain written permission from the reviewer and authors prior to publishing or publicizing reviewer’s comments. Editors must obtain written permission from the reviewer before revealing the identity of the reviewer to the author.

If a manuscript is rejected for publication, all copies of the manuscript should be destroyed or deleted by the editor or editorial staff. If the paper is published, all related documents should be kept in the editorial office for at least 3 years.