What can happen to a paper submitted without co-author knowledge Every answer in this related question has some phrasing about it being unethical or, as the first answer "does not have the right".  Does a supervisor have right to submit paper without consents of coauthor students?

Another similar question and answer states simply "No" to being 'allowed' to do this. Co-author blocking publication . Some comments suggest it is extremely rare and unlikely someone would do this. 

This question is similar Paper submitted by co-author without authorization, but about how to handle the situation as they still wanted it to be accepted.

Yet, the one case I can find in COPE, the self-described Committee on Publication Ethics, does not seem to consider this a journal issue. 


  • The corresponding author submitted an article without the knowledge 
  of all or some of his co-authors.
  • The corresponding author was under contract with research centre X at that time.
  • The scientific content of the article is correct. A minor error that occurred since publication can be corrected by an erratum.


The result/answer to this problem:


  On a show of hands, half of the Forum suggested that the editor do
  nothing further, a few suggested publishing a correction or some form
  of note on the paper regarding the authorship dispute, and only two
  people suggested a retraction.


Are there any reasons, legal or society-wise (does IEEE or some groups have specific information related), that this is not the standard?  This is not a question on if someone is allowed to just publish, it is literally asking, so-what if they do? What can possibly happen (to a paper or person) if someone publishes a manuscript without their co-authors permission?
Usually, nothing happens, except damage to the submitting author's reputation.

Anything could happen.  It depends on the coauthor's feeling and the content of the paper.  If the content of the paper is objectionable, then this might lead to retraction.  Potentially the submitting author could be fired.  But most likely, if a coauthor complains, the submitting author just promises not to do it again and nothing else happens.

Don't do it.  Just because unethical conduct has no direct consequences doesn't mean it's okay.  Don't even do it if your coauthors tell you to do it.  Note that the coauthor's permission is needed in addition to their knowledge.