Pour les chercheurs
1 - How and where to deposit?
Researchers should deposit published articles or final manuscripts into the institutional repository of the research institution with which they are affiliated. If this is not possible, they should identify an appropriate subject based/thematic repository. If the researcher’s institution doesn’t have an open access institutional repository and if there is no relevant open access subject repository the researcher can deposit the article in the OpenAIRE Orphan Repository
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2 - What to deposit?
Either one of the documents described below should be deposited in an institutional or subject repository upon acceptance for publication:
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3 - When to deposit?
Grant recipients are required to make their best efforts to ensure that this electronic copy becomes freely and electronically available to anyone - either through an institutional or subject-based repository, as soon as possible, but no later than
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4 - What if I do not deposit?
The Guidelines for the EC FP7 and ERC Guidelines clearly urge you to comply with the depositing requirements. Researchers must make their best efforts to ensure Open Access to their publications. The EC FP7 guidelines stipulate that if you cannot comply, you should inform the Commission and provide the Publisher’s letter of refusal. The stipulations of the Guidelines are such that there is no reason for Publishers to refuse cooperation. There is increasing evidence that Open Access availability of publications increases their visibility and use. It has also become clear that Open Access publishing does not harm the researcher, his/her institution, research or publication. So there is no reason not to comply with the Guidelines, there are only potential benefits to be gained. |
5 - What should I do if the publisher does not allow me to archive my article?
If the publisher doesn’t allow you to deposit your article in a repository, the EC Open Access policy requires the author to contact the publisher. You are requested to inform the publisher of the EC Open Access requirements, and ask for an exception to the publisher’s normal policy to enable you to meet those requirements. It is important to obtain this permission in writing. A template letter is available that can be used when writing to the publisher asking for an amendment to your publishing agreement; it can be found among the EC Resources. When writing to publishers, it is better to write to the editor or officer in charge of authors' rights if possible, rather than to a general publisher's email address for permissions for re-use of published material. It is important that the request be seen as coming from the author and is part of the publisher/author relationship. |
6 - What does "making best efforts" entail?
The EC OA pilot asks that authors seek information on publishing models and copyright/licensing policies of the journal(s) to which they plan to submit (e.g. via ROMeO). If publishers' policies do not enable you to meet the requirements of the EC grant agreement, you can negotiate an amendment to the publisher’s applicable copyright clauses or request an authorisation to self-archive within the specific embargo period. If negotiations are unsuccessful, submission to another journal should be considered. If it appears to be impossible to publish in accordance with special clause 39, you should inform the Commission and provide the publisher’s letter of refusal. |
7 - My institution does not have a repository, how can I comply with the Open Access requirement?
If your institution doesn’t have an institutional repository and if there is no relevant subject repository you can deposit the article in the OpenAIRE Orphan Repository, hosted by CERN. |
8 - If I have deposited in my Institutional Repository, should I also deposit in the "Orphan Repository"?
That is not necessary. You may use the orphan repository if there is no other open access and OpenAIRE compliant repository available to you. As long as your repository is compliant with the OpenAIRE Guidelines, it will be centrally harvested and your publication will be visible through the OpenAIRE portal. |
9 - If I have deposited in my Institutional Repository, how do I know it can be found in the OpenAIRE portal?
As long as your repository is compliant with the OpenAIRE guidelines, it will be centrally harvested and your publication will be visible through the OpenAIRE portal. You may check with your Repository Manager about the OpenAIRE compliancy of your institutional repository. |
10 - What is a Licence to Publish?
A Licence to Publish is a publishing agreement between author and publisher. Unlike many publishing agreements, it does not transfer the author's copyright to the publisher. Instead, the author retains his copyright and grants the publisher a "sole licence to reproduce and communicate the scholarly work and certain other rights needed for publishing". It leaves the author the right to archive his article in an Open Access repository. The JISC/SURF Copyright Toolbox provides a model licence.
If, furthermore, you would like to ensure that others can be granted further rights for the use and reuse your work, you may ask the publisher to:
* immediately release your work under a Creative Commons license, or * limit the term of exclusive rights and to release your work under a Creative Commons licence afterwards. These options can be included in your License to Publish. Several publishers already combine a License to Publish with Creative Commons licencing. Some require article processing fees to release your work under such terms. These fees can be paid out of the project budget and are fully eligible for reimbursement within the project period. |
11 - I have already got my material on my website. Do I need a repository?
Yes! Most digital repositories are compliant with technical standards that enable cross-archive searching (Open Archives Initiative’s Protocol for Metadata Harvesting OAI-PMH). Thus, an eprint placed in a repository is far easier to find than through an individual's website. Several search engines such as Google or Google Scholar favour OAI-repository material, and display these results more prominently. Moreover, repositories are working to preserve materials in the long-term. The benefit is that if a researcher moves on, or their personal website changes, their eprints are in a repository - and the links - will remain stable, readable and accessible. |
12 - Does my institution/repository need an agreement with the publisher to allow me to archive my article?
This is not necessary. In most cases the publishers' policies publicized in the SHERPA/RoMEO websites are sufficient. If you do not transfer your copyright but agree with your publisher on a Licence to Publish, there is no need for further agreements. |
13 - What about version-control? Will there be one version in a repository and a different published version?
The EC OA pilot and ERC Guidelines ask for either the final manuscript or the published version of the article to be made available for Open Access. Most deposited versions are the author's final version - the version after peer-review, after revision and checking - that is, the version sent to the publisher for printing. Some publishers allow the use of the final PDF file which contains their layout and style of font - in which case the versions are identical. Otherwise, while the style of the font might be different, the text of the repository version is identical except for any minor copy-editing done by the publisher after it leaves the author's hands. |
14 - Is there an agreement between the EC and publishers to allow for the open access availability of EC funded research results?
This is not necessary. In most cases the publishers' policies publicized in the SHERPA/RoMEO websites are sufficient. If you do not transfer your copyright but agree with your publisher on a Licence to Publish, there is no need for further agreements. |
15 - What is self-archiving or Green Open Access?
Self-archiving means that the author deposits his final manuscript (pre- or post-print) or published article in an institutional or subject-based repository. Green Open Access, or 'the Green Route" means that the publisher's policy allows the author to archive his final manuscript in a repository, before peer review (pre-print) or after peer-review (post-print). Some publishers allow self-archiving of the published version in PDF-format. TheSherpa/RoMEO database gives information on most publishers' and journals' policies |
16 - Where can I find the publisher policies on open access and self-archiving?
You can use the database SHERPA/RoMEO to find the vast majority of scholarly journals and publishers standard archiving policies. The SHERPA/RoMEO database uses colour codes to give the user an easy and quick overview of the different policies of journals. |
17 - Can I edit the metadata of a deposited publication?
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18 - Can I remove my deposited publications?
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