{"id":75703,"date":"2024-12-13T17:18:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T17:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/?page_id=75703"},"modified":"2025-08-20T16:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T16:25:15","slug":"open-preprints","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/open-science\/open-preprints\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Preprints"},"content":{"rendered":"

From October 2023 to July 2025, CC and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) partnered to promote the use of the CC BY 4.0 license on preprints.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preprints are complete drafts of scientific research articles posted to an online repository (before formal peer review). Online repositories (for example, BioRxiv, arXiv, SSRN) are web-based platforms that post research outputs for scholarly publication. Preprints have long been part of the scientific publishing ecosystem and are increasingly becoming a vehicle for scientific dissemination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The increasing use of preprints in life sciences shows the importance of rapid and equitable knowledge dissemination. Openly licensing preprints takes it one step further. Openly licensed preprints allow researchers and readers to access research without having to rely on subscriptions or paid access to research journals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As of mid-2024, approximately 18% of the preprints published on arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, and Research Square were openly licensed with CC BY. Our goal was to expand the adoption of the CC BY license on life sciences preprints. By developing model policies, training funders, and partnering with preprint servers to streamline open licensing practices, we\u2019re ensuring that grant-funded research outputs are accessible, adaptable, and aligned with the growing demand for transparency and collaboration in scientific communication.<\/span><\/p>\n

Project Objectives<\/h2>\n