Purpose and Scope
This policy establishes how Treata journals should describe and implement open-access arrangements. Open access concerns reader access to scholarly content, but it also interacts with licensing, copyright, fees, archiving, and reuse.
Treata does not assume that every journal or article uses the same access model. Each journal must publish the model it actually operates.
Access Model Transparency
Journal pages should state whether content is fully open access, subscription-based, hybrid, delayed open access, or subject to another defined model. Article-level access and licensing information should be consistent with the journal’s stated model and any article-specific arrangement.
Terms such as 'open access' should not be used merely because an abstract is free to read or because selected articles are temporarily accessible.
Reader Access
Where an article is designated open access, the full scholarly content should be accessible to readers according to the stated terms without a subscription paywall. Technical access should be maintained through stable article pages and preservation arrangements where feasible.
Open access does not mean that all forms of reuse are unrestricted; reuse depends on the applicable license and rights.
Licensing
Open-access articles should display a clear license or other rights statement that tells readers what reuse is permitted. The license should correspond to the author agreement and should be applied consistently in article metadata and files where technically appropriate.
Different journals or article categories may use different licenses when transparently configured.
Copyright and Author Rights
Open access and copyright ownership are distinct questions. Authors may retain copyright or rights may be held under another arrangement depending on the journal and agreement.
Journal information should therefore state both the access/license position and the relevant copyright arrangement rather than treating them as interchangeable.
APCs and Financial Transparency
A journal that charges an article processing charge or other publication fee should state the amount, currency, timing, applicable taxes where relevant, waiver or discount arrangements, and what the charge covers. A journal with no APC should state that only when it is factually correct.
Payment or ability to pay must not improperly determine scientific editorial decisions.
Waivers and Discounts
Where waivers or discounts are offered, eligibility and application procedures should be communicated clearly enough for authors to understand them. Requests should be handled separately from scientific assessment where practicable.
A waiver policy should not be advertised unless the journal has an operational mechanism for implementing it.
Repository Sharing and Funder Requirements
Authors may be subject to funder or institutional open-access and repository requirements. Journal instructions should explain compatible routes where relevant, including permitted manuscript versions and embargoes if any.
Treata journals should avoid making universal repository promises that conflict with their actual rights arrangements.
Metadata, Discovery and Preservation
Open-access status and license information should be represented accurately in article metadata where supported. Persistent identifiers, structured metadata, and preservation improve durable discovery and access.
Temporary website availability alone is not a sufficient long-term preservation strategy.
Journal Implementation and Version Control
Open access is journal configurable within the publisher framework. Each journal must define its access model, license, copyright arrangement, fees, waiver policy, and repository terms as applicable.
Material changes should be versioned and should not silently alter the rights or license attached to already published content.
Version Control
Version 1.0. This page is the canonical publisher-level text for the current version. Material revisions should be versioned and dated, while superseded versions remain identifiable so historical applicability can be determined.