8.3 Preprints, Creative Commons & Current Open-Access Requirements

Preprints, Creative Commons & Current Open-Access Requirements

Preprints

A preprint is a manuscript posted publicly before completion of formal journal peer review. It can accelerate access and invite feedback, but readers may mistake preliminary findings for validated evidence.

Before posting company-sponsored biomedical research:

1. confirm agreement of all authors and the sponsor under applicable agreements;
2. check the target journal's prior-publication and preprint policy;
3. select a credible server suited to the discipline;
4. protect participant privacy and confidential or patentable information;
5. disclose funding, interests, writing support, and sponsor involvement;
6. label the work clearly as not peer reviewed;
7. avoid promotional dissemination or clinical recommendations beyond the evidence;
8. update or link the record when a peer-reviewed article is published;
9. follow server processes if a material error requires correction or withdrawal.

A preprint DOI does not make the work peer reviewed. Withdrawal usually leaves a visible scholarly record; it is not silent deletion.

Open-Access Routes

Common models include:

These labels do not guarantee peer-review quality, indexing, a particular Creative Commons license, or a fixed price. Verify the journal through normal quality checks. APCs vary widely and should be budgeted from the actual target-journal price and applicable agreement rather than from a universal range.

Manuscript Versions

Distinguish:

• submitted manuscript: before peer review;
• author accepted manuscript (AAM): peer-reviewed and accepted, before publisher production;
• Version of Record (VoR): final publisher version.

Repository policy may permit or require one version but not another. Deposit the correct file with accurate metadata.

Creative Commons Licenses

All CC licenses require compliance with their terms. They do not grant rights the licensor does not own, erase privacy restrictions, or automatically cover excluded third-party material. Check credit lines and figure legends.

“Freely readable” is not itself a license. “Open access” also does not always mean CC BY. Record the exact license.

Plan S

Plan S applies to research funded by participating cOAlition S organizations under their grant policies. Current implementation guidance describes three compliance routes:

1. an open-access journal or platform;
2. a subscription journal plus immediate repository availability of the VoR or AAM;
3. a subscription venue under an eligible transformative arrangement.

Across routes, the article must be openly available immediately, without embargo. CC BY 4.0 is the default, but the policy also recognizes CC BY-SA and CC0 as alternatives and allows a funder to approve CC BY-ND for an individual article on justified request. Therefore, “Plan S always permits only CC BY” is too absolute.

Plan S does not mean an author must choose only a gold-OA journal. The repository route can be compliant. Confirm the specific funder's current grant terms, because member implementation and approved exceptions matter.

NIH Public Access

The 2024 NIH Public Access Policy took effect on July 1, 2025, replacing the 2008 policy for covered manuscripts accepted on or after that date. It requires submission of the AAM to PubMed Central upon acceptance and public availability without embargo on the official publication date.

The policy is not identical to Plan S. Follow NIH's current scope, submission, government-use-license, rights, costs, and compliance guidance. Do not use an old 12-month NIH embargo rule for manuscripts subject to the current policy.

Rights Retention

Rights-retention policies help authors or institutions keep sufficient rights to make an AAM or VoR openly available under the required terms. The mechanism can involve grant terms, institutional policy, or notice to the publisher.

Before submission:

• identify every funder and grant number;
• determine the applicable public-access and license policy;
• notify coauthors;
• check whether required rights-retention language must appear in the submission;
• verify that the journal agreement preserves the necessary rights;
• plan repository deposit and metadata;
• resolve third-party content separately.

A publisher agreement signed without review can conflict with an existing funder obligation.

Selecting a Venue

A compliant venue decision considers:

• scientific and audience fit;
• editorial quality and peer review;
• indexing and preservation;
• publication and correction policies;
• license options;
• repository permissions;
• funder compliance;
• total cost and waiver eligibility;
• accessibility and machine-readable metadata;
• timing.

Do not equate the highest APC with quality or the absence of an APC with low quality. Diamond journals can be reputable, while a deceptive journal may charge either a high or low fee.

Applied Scenarios

Plan S grant: An author may publish in a subscription journal if the compliant version is made immediately available in an appropriate repository under the required open license. Gold OA is not the only route. CC BY is default, but verify recognized alternatives and any approved individual exception.

NIH-funded manuscript accepted August 2025: The current NIH policy applies. Submit the AAM to PubMed Central upon acceptance and ensure it is publicly available without embargo on the official publication date.

CC BY-NC figure: A company considering promotional reuse must not assume that open access permits the use. The NC term may restrict it, and third-party rights may also apply. Obtain a rights review.