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If the article is published as an open access publication under an open license (e.g. Creative Commons), you do not need to do anything. Open Science and ACRIS team will take care of self-archiving the published article in university's publication repository to ensure its long-term preservation.

If the article is published behind a paywall, the peer-reviewed manuscript (e.g. Author Accepted Manuscript, AAM, final draft) can be self-archived. This is called green open access. Open Science and ACRIS team will contact you and ask you to send the peer-reviewed manuscript. 

There are three different versions of a journal article or other research output: preprint, peer-reviewed manuscript, and published article.  

1. Preprint is the manuscript version that has been submitted for review, but not yet undergone peer review.
   • Please note: Preprint doesn't comply with funders' open access policies, because funders require that peer-reviewed scientific articles are available open access.
2. Peer-reviewed manuscript (e.g. AAM, Author accepted manuscript, final draft) is the version that has been accepted for publication by the publisher. It does not have publisher's layout or logo on it.     
   • Please note: If the article is not published open access under open license, peer-reviewed manuscript is used for self-archiving. This is called green open access.
3. Published article (e.g. VoR, Version of Record, final published version) is the final version that has been peer-reviewed and published in a journal or proceedings, and has undergone editing and typesetting, and will have the publisher's logo on it.
   • Please note: If the article is not available open access under an open license, it cannot be used for self-archiving. 

Creative Commons licenses are the most common open licenses that enable the creator to specify how someone else may use their work. The creator always retains the copyright to their work. For example, the CC BY license allows the work to be freely copied, distributed, and modified, even for commercial purposes. The original work must always be attributed, and the creator's name must be mentioned. Several research funders require the use of the CC BY license.   

Open content licenses - Creative Commons | Aalto University

Use of discipline-specific repositories commonly used and endorsed by the respective research communities is recommended, because it increases the visibility and impact of the research. However, the full-text versions of peer-reviewed manuscripts or published articles should be self-archived also to university's publication repository to ensure long-term availability in national repositories.

Internationally, prior licence model is known as the Rights Retention Strategy. Researchers retain the right to self-archive their peer-reviewed manuscript (e.g. Author Accepted Manuscript, AAM) without an embargo period and under the Creative Commons license required by the funder in Aalto's publication repository, regardless of any restrictions set by publishers. 

The prior licence model applies to manuscripts submitted for review starting 1 January 2026. In practice, it applies only if the article is published behind a paywall and the peer-reviewed manuscript is self-archived in Aalto's publication repository. If the article is published open access in a journal or proceedings under Creative Commons license, there is no need to self-archive the peer-reviewed manuscript.

Prior licence model supports researchers in retaining rights to their peer-reviewed manuscripts and ensures long-term preservation of Aalto University’s research publications. The aim of the prior licence model is to support researchers' possibilities to meet funders' open access requirements even in cases where publisher's policy does not allow self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo or under Creative Commons license required by the funder, or paying the open access fee (APC fee) in so-called hybrid journals is not feasible. 

Prior licence model applies to manuscripts of peer-reviewed articles in journals, conference proceedings, and anthologies (publication types A1–A4 in the ). 

• A1 Journal article (refereed), original research
• A2 Review article, Literature review, Systematic review
• A3 Book section, chapters in research books
• A4 Conference article in proceedings 

No. The prior licence model provides researchers with more options for choosing a publication channel. Self-archiving following the prior licence model allows researchers to meet funders' open access requirements even in cases where paying the open access fee (APC fee) in so-called hybrid journals is not feasible, or publisher's policy does not allow self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo or under Creative Commons license required by the funder. 

You have the possibility to exercise your right to opt-out from the prior licence model, as described in the president's decision. No justification is needed. Opt-out means that the peer-reviewed manuscript will be self-archived following the publisher's terms, including embargo. Opt-out is also possible if one of the co-authors does not approve of self-archiving following Aalto's prior licence model.

Please note that many research funders require immediate open access, whereas a scholarly publisher may not publish in a way that meets this requirement. If you choose to opt-out, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are following your funder’s requirements.

Self-archiving of the peer-reviewed manuscript should be agreed upon with the co-authors, similar to the authors' roles and their order in the article, choice and openness of the publication channel. If any of the co-authors does not approve of self-archiving following Aalto's prior licence model, it is possible to opt-out. In such cases, the peer-reviewed manuscript will be self-archived following the publisher's terms, including embargo. However, please note that many research funders require immediate open access under a CC license. 

No, Aalto University will inform publishers about the prior licence model directly and on its web pages.

Yes, you can sign the publishing agreement. The embargo period does not apply as your university's prior licence model precedes the publishing agreement. 

Currently, similar policies to prior licence model (internationally known as Rights Retention Strategies) are applied in more than , and there are no known cases where researchers affiliated with these institutions have faced legal actions by the publishers.  

It is highly unlikely that publishers would pursue legal actions before giving the possibility to remove the peer-reviewed manuscript from the institutional repository. In the event of a dispute concerning interpretation and application of the prior licence model, university is legally responsible for solving it. 

Some publishers (e.g. and ) have introduced so-called repository fees. These publishers may charge separate fees for self-archiving of a peer-reviewed manuscript without an embargo, or for the use of a CC license in self-archiving. These fees are not included in open access agreements with publishers. 

For more information, please contact: acris@aalto.fi.