OpenEdition rolls out new licensing policy
As a winner of the first National Fund for Open Science (FNSO) call for projects, OpenEdition’s I-FAIR IR project has been able to create a default licensing policy for all four of its platforms and its metadata and offer recommendations and licenses for its platforms. The new policy will be rolled out in the months to come.
As a winner of the first FNSO call for projects, OpenEdition received funding for its I-FAIR IR program, whose mission is to help make scientific publications FAIR, that is, findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable.
OpenEdition used the funds to work with Anne-Laure Stérin, a copyright lawyer, to create a default licensing policy for all four of its platforms and its metadata. The result was a policy that preserves the rights of all parties while furthering the mission of open science. The policy was submitted to the steering committee, which approved it at its annual meeting in 2021.
The new licensing policy has several objectives:
- Clarify the status of documents and metadata published.
- Inform the community of the terms and conditions of content use.
- Allow content to be reused.
- Allow journals and editors to publish content under the terms of the Plan S program and payment agreements.
Version 4.0 of the license was selected for use, as it is the newest and also the most relevant given OpenEdition’s international scope.
Licensing recommendations and options on OpenEdition platforms. Source: OpenEdition, CC BY
All metadata related to a platform’s content is covered by a CC0 notice.
Calenda
Default notice for the platform and announcements: CC0
Possible licensing exception by announcement: CC BY
Hypotheses
Default license for the platform, websites, and blog posts: CC-BY-NC-ND
Possible licensing exception by website or blog post: Any other CC or CC0 license
OpenEdition Books
Default license for the platform, websites, collections, books, and chapters: CC-BY-NC-ND
Possible licensing exception by website: Any other CC license, or OpenEdition for Books license
Possible licensing exception by collection, book, or chapter: Any other CC license, or OpenEdition for Books license, or public domain
OpenEdition Journals
Default license for the platform, websites, issues (or annual collections), and documents: CC BY-SA
Potential licensing exception by website: Any other CC license
Possible exception by issue or document: Any other CC license, or OpenEdition for Books license, or public domain
Rollout
The new licensing policy will be rolled out separately on each OpenEdition platform in the months to come.
- By November 2022. Metadata on all four platforms as well as all Calenda documents will be published under a CC0 license.
- By March 2023 at the latest. The policy will be applied to all new content published on OpenEdition Books and OpenEdition Journals.
- By June 2023. The policy will be applied to all new content published on Hypotheses.
Any questions?
- Metadata: referencement[at]openedition.org
- Calenda: calenda[at]openedition.org
- OpenEdition Books: books-support[at]openedition.org
- OpenEdition Journals: revues[at]openedition.org
- Hypotheses: hypotheses[at]openedition.org
To learn more about OpenEdition’s licensing policy
- Video recording of OpenEdition interview on the topic (French)
- INSHS newsletter (French)
- OpenEdition licensing policy
- CC licenses
- Calenda FAQ
To read statements by agencies that fund open-access publication
- Plan S
- ERC
- National plan for open science: 1st edition and 2nd edition
- ANR
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
OpenEdition team (October 21, 2022). OpenEdition rolls out new licensing policy. Open Electronic Publishing. Retrieved April 21, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/siap