Creative Commons (CC) and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) are collaborating to promote the use of the CC BY 4.0 license on preprints. Openly licensing preprints enables researchers and readers to benefit from rapid dissemination, rigorous review, and equitable contribution to scientific knowledge that doesn’t require paid access to exclusive research journals. As part of this initiative, we develop and share practical licensing guidance for researchers in the life sciences, as well as make policy recommendations for funders and preprint servers.

Empowering Researchers to Participate in Equitable Knowledge Ecosystems

Preprints are complete drafts of scientific research articles posted to an online repository before formal peer review. Online repositories are web-based platforms that publish research outputs for scholarly publication. Preprints have long been part of the scientific publishing ecosystem. As the research community commits to much more open practices, preprints are increasingly becoming a vehicle for scientific dissemination.

Preprints in Action

In the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10,232 COVID-19–related preprints were posted to bioRxiv and medRxiv. This meant that research about the pandemic that would otherwise take longer to be released in paywalled journals was available immediately. This moment gave attention to the critical need for timely and open access to research findings.

The increasing use of preprints in life sciences highlights the need for openly licensed research to realize their full potential for rapid and equitable knowledge dissemination. We aim to expand the adoption of the CC BY license on life sciences preprints, fostering a robust open access ecosystem. By developing model policies, training funders, and partnering with preprint servers to streamline open licensing practices, CC seeks to ensure that grant-funded research outputs are accessible, adaptable, and aligned with the growing demand for transparency and collaboration in scientific communication.

This initiative contributes to our goal of  defending and advocating for a thriving commons, by embedding open licensing practices into critical research workflows. Researchers benefit from faster dissemination of their work, increased visibility, and enhanced opportunities for collaboration and peer engagement. The general public gains unrestricted access to life-changing research, promoting broader understanding, innovation, and the equitable sharing of scientific advancements.

If you publish research, you can publish to preprint servers and select a CC BY license. CC BY is the best option to openly license your preprint because it maximizes reuse and minimizes the complexity of navigating legal terms when sharing your research.

How to Choose a License to Amplify the Impact of your Preprint – hosted by arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, and Creative Commons