Open Preprints

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. 

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. 

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. 

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’re ensuring that grant-funded research outputs are accessible, adaptable, and aligned with the growing demand for transparency and collaboration in scientific communication.

Project Objectives

When you publish your research as a preprint, you can retain copyright and use an open license to maximize reuse. CC BY is the best open license for preprints. Authors retain their copyright while maximizing reuse. CC BY removes legal complexities and increases the sharing, reach, and accessibility of global knowledge.

Impact and Outcomes

This project ensured that open licensing was built into key research workflows. 

Thanks to this work, several preprint servers including OpenRxiv’s bioRxiv and medRxiv have updated their license selectors and added clarifying language about open licenses in order to better educate and support researchers.

We’ve also helped launch a new Wikipedia page about funders’ licensing policies to support informed decisions and broaden public awareness.

“I believe embracing CC BY licensing for preprints is the easiest, most cost-effective, most equitable, and most publisher-proof policy a funder can implement. It ensures global access to research without delay. Collaborating with Creative Commons to develop this preprint policy framework has been critical to its success, grounding it in trusted, globally recognized licensing principles that advance openness by design.”
– Ashley Farley, Senior Officer of Knowledge & Research Services at the Gates Foundation

Model Policy Framework for Open Preprints

Review the Model Policy Framework for Open Preprints here.

We worked with 14 funders of open science to develop a model policy framework for open preprints, which is being used to inform their policies and practices and encourage others to do the same. The widespread use of CC BY on preprints aligns with funder mandates for openness.

To support researchers navigating licensing decisions, we launched a short video and educational resources explaining why CC BY is the best option for preprints. These materials help researchers understand how CC licensing supports publication, AI transparency, and scientific reproducibility.

Video: Why Choose CC BY for Preprints

If you are a researcher, scientist, or knowledge producer, you are a creator. The knowledge you record as a research output is the scaffolding for collaboration. When you openly license your work, you are joining a global collective of researchers who are sharing their science and promoting open, universal access to knowledge. This video explains open licenses for research outputs and encourages researchers to use CC licenses for data, preprints, manuscripts, and journal articles.

We have created three PDF resources to provide more information:

Webinar Recording: CC BY for Preprints

We also delivered a webinar on why you should choose CC BY for preprints.

Looking Ahead

Our commitment to ensuring openness is built into scholarly dissemination workflows is rooted in our larger vision of a thriving, accessible commons. We believe there’s more to do, including embedding clear guidance on how preprint content should be used for AI training, empowering funders to require open license adoption, license enforcement mechanisms, expanding journal engagement, and expanding implementation worldwide. With continued support from funders, we are eager to build on this work and deepen its global impact.

This initiative was made possible thanks to our funder, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and our collaborators, especially the Open Research Funders Group and ASAPbio. Together, we are shaping a more inclusive research ecosystem and advancing equitable, open scientific communication.