1. Purpose and Scope

• This policy outlines WIS Publisher’s commitment to open, equitable, and sustainable access to scholarly research.
• Applies to all journals, conference proceedings, books, and other scholarly outputs published by WIS Publisher, unless a specific series or title states otherwise.

2. Definition of Open Access

• Open Access means that published content is freely available online to all users, without subscription or paywall barriers, and can be reused under a clear license that permits lawful sharing and adaptation with proper attribution.

3. Licensing and Copyright

• Default License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), enabling sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium with appropriate credit to authors and the source.
• Alternative Licenses: Authors may request CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, or CC BY-SA where funder mandates or ethical considerations require. Any deviation from CC BY must be stated on the article’s landing page and PDF.
• Copyright: Authors retain copyright to their work. Authors grant WIS Publisher a non-exclusive license to publish, archive, and disseminate the work and identify itself as the original publisher.
• Third-Party Content: Authors must secure permissions for any third-party materials not covered by their chosen license and clearly indicate such exceptions.

4. Versions and Self-Archiving (Green OA)

• Preprints: Authors may post preprints (submitted, non–peer reviewed versions) on any preprint server at any time, with a suggested citation to the journal once accepted.
• Author Accepted Manuscripts (AAMs): Authors may deposit AAMs in institutional or subject repositories immediately upon acceptance with no embargo. A link to the Version of Record (VoR) should be included once available.
• Version of Record: The final published PDF may be shared on personal websites, institutional repositories, and scholarly networks. If an embargo is required for specific titles, it will be clearly stated at the journal level; WIS aims for zero embargo wherever feasible.

5. Access and Fees (Gold/Hybrid OA)

• Gold OA Journals: All articles are open access upon publication.
• Hybrid OA Journals: Subscription journals may offer an open access option for individual articles.
• Article Processing Charges (APCs): Where APCs apply, fees will be transparently listed on each journal’s webpage, including any taxes and waivers/discounts. No submission or page charges unless explicitly stated.
• Waivers and Discounts: Automatic waivers/discounts are available for authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries (based on World Bank classifications) and for demonstrated financial need. Editorial decisions are independent of ability to pay.
• Institutional and Funder Agreements: WIS participates in transformative agreements and OA partnerships to reduce or cover APCs for affiliated authors.

6. Compliance with Funder and Institutional Mandates

• WIS supports compliance with funder policies (e.g., Plan S, NIH, UKRI, Horizon Europe) including immediate OA, specific licenses, and deposition in designated repositories (e.g., PubMed Central).
• Upon request, WIS will deposit the VoR or AAM in required repositories and provide necessary metadata.

7. Metadata, Indexing, and Persistent Identifiers

• All publications include rich metadata (title, authors, affiliations, ORCID iDs, funder IDs, keywords, acknowledgments, references) and are deposited with Crossref/Datacite for DOIs.
• Open metadata is made available via standard protocols (e.g., OAI-PMH/JSON feeds) to facilitate discovery and reuse.
• Where applicable, WIS supports data and code citation, encouraging DOIs or other persistent identifiers for datasets, software, and protocols.

8. Research Data, Code, and Materials

• WIS strongly encourages open sharing of data, code, and materials underlying published results, consistent with ethical, legal, and privacy constraints.
• Data Availability Statements (DAS) are required for all research articles, indicating where data/code can be accessed or why access is restricted.
• Recommended repositories include trusted domain-specific repositories or generalist repositories.
• For sensitive data, controlled access and de-identification must be clearly described.

9. Ethics, Integrity, and Misuse

• OA does not alter WIS standards for peer review, research integrity, and ethical compliance (e.g., human/animal research approvals, consent, data protection).
• Allegations of misuse or infringement of OA content will be evaluated promptly; corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern follow WIS’s editorial policies and COPE guidelines.

10. Preservation and Accessibility

• WIS ensures long-term preservation of the Version of Record via recognized preservation services (e.g., CLOCKSS/LOCKSS/Portico) and redundant backups.
• Content is provided in accessible formats compliant with relevant accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and machine-readable tagging where possible.

11. Interoperability and Machine Readability

• Open reference lists and citations are deposited to Crossref and shared openly where rights allow.
• Articles are published with machine-readable licenses and structured XML (e.g., JATS) to support text and data mining (TDM).
• TDM is permitted under the article’s license without additional permission, provided proper attribution is given and content integrity is maintained.

12. Author Rights and Responsibilities

• Authors retain the right to share, reuse, and build upon their work consistent with the selected license.
• Authors are responsible for ensuring originality, obtaining permissions for third-party content, and disclosing funding, conflicts of interest, and relevant approvals.
• Any post-publication updates or corrections should be coordinated with WIS editorial staff.

13. Reader and Community Rights

• Readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to, and use content for lawful purposes consistent with the license, without requiring prior permission from WIS or the authors.
• WIS encourages community feedback and post-publication commentary in constructive, transparent forums.

14. Revenue and Sustainability

• To sustain high-quality OA publishing, WIS may rely on a mix of APCs, institutional support, grants, sponsorships, transformative agreements, and publishing services. Financial models will be transparent and periodically reviewed.

15. Policy Governance and Updates

• This policy is reviewed annually and may be updated to reflect evolving best practices, legal requirements, and community feedback.
• Any material changes will be announced on the WIS website and applied prospectively.

16. Contact

• For questions about this policy, waivers, or repository deposits, contact: [OA Office Email] and [Support Portal].
• Rights and permissions queries: [Rights Email].
• Metadata and repository integrations: [Tech/Metadata Email].

Optional additions you can customize:

• Embargo specifics for particular journals or books.
• Detailed APC schedule and waiver criteria.
• Specific repository deposit workflows (e.g., PubMed Central, Europe PMC).
• TDM API or rate-limiting rules.
• Data ethics guidance for sensitive domains.

If you want, I can tailor this to a specific journal type (STEM, humanities, monographs), add legal language vetted for particular jurisdictions, or generate author-facing web copy and FAQs.