Open Access Policy

The Annals of Proteomics and Bioinformatics (APB) is committed to the principles of open science and the unrestricted dissemination of scholarly knowledge. The journal follows a Gold Open Access publishing model that allows immediate, permanent, and free access to all articles for anyone, anywhere, without subscription or registration barriers.

APB ensures that all published works are freely accessible under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), supporting global collaboration, innovation, and reuse of scientific content.

1. Principles of Open Access

Open access is central to APB’s mission of accelerating scientific discovery. By removing financial, legal, and technical barriers, APB provides equal access to research findings for scientists, educators, clinicians, policymakers, and the public.

  • Readers may freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, and link to full texts of articles.
  • Authors retain copyright of their published works.
  • Reuse is permitted with proper citation of the original work.
  • There are no embargo periods or paywalls applied to any APB content.

2. Licensing Terms

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

This license allows anyone to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use.
  • Provide Attribution to the original authors and source (APB).

Full license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

3. Copyright Ownership

Authors publishing in APB retain copyright of their work. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to grant the publisher a non-exclusive license to distribute and archive the published article in digital repositories and databases.

Authors may reuse their work in future publications, presentations, or educational resources, provided that APB is cited as the original source of publication.

4. Self-Archiving and Repository Rights

APB fully supports the self-archiving of scholarly work in accordance with the SHERPA/RoMEO Green and Blue Open Access classifications. Authors may deposit any version of their article:

  • Preprint (before peer review).
  • Accepted version (after peer review, before typesetting).
  • Published version (final PDF).

Deposits can be made in institutional repositories, subject repositories, or on personal websites, with the inclusion of citation details and DOI.

5. Article Processing Charges (APC)

To maintain open access and high-quality peer review, APB applies an Article Processing Charge (APC). This fee covers editorial management, indexing, digital archiving, and maintenance of the online publication platform. Details of APCs are available on the Article Processing Charges page.

APB operates transparently and ensures that fees are not linked to editorial decisions. Financial hardship-based waivers are available (see Waiver Policy).

6. Repository and Preservation Policy

All published articles are archived in secure digital repositories such as Portico, PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), and LOCKSS. This ensures long-term accessibility and preservation of the scholarly record.

7. Interoperability and Metadata

APB’s metadata is fully open and compatible with the OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) standard, allowing indexing by aggregators such as DOAJ, Google Scholar, OpenAIRE, BASE, and CrossRef.

Each article is assigned a unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier) to ensure persistent access and citation tracking.

8. Compliance with Global Standards

APB’s Open Access Policy aligns with international declarations and funding mandates, including:

  • The Budapest Open Access Initiative (2002)
  • The Berlin Declaration on Open Access (2003)
  • Plan S and related funder guidelines promoting full and immediate access to research outputs

By adhering to these frameworks, APB ensures that scientific outputs remain freely accessible and reusable globally.

9. Benefits of Open Access

  • Accelerates dissemination of scientific knowledge.
  • Increases global visibility and citation impact of research.
  • Removes access inequalities for researchers in low- and middle-income regions.
  • Supports innovation through unrestricted access to proteomics and bioinformatics research.

10. Policy on Data Sharing and Transparency

Authors are encouraged to deposit underlying data and code in open repositories such as PRIDE, ProteomeXchange, GitHub, or Zenodo, ensuring transparency and reproducibility of results. Data-sharing statements must accompany articles where applicable.

11. Ethical and Legal Responsibilities

Authors must ensure that their work complies with copyright and data protection laws. Any use of third-party materials must include proper acknowledgment or permission statements.

All articles published in APB are distributed under CC BY 4.0, allowing reuse with appropriate citation.

12. Updates and Policy Review

The Open Access Policy is reviewed periodically to ensure compliance with evolving international standards, copyright frameworks, and funder requirements.

13. Contact Information

For inquiries regarding this policy or open-access compliance, contact:

© 2025 Annals of Proteomics and Bioinformatics (APB) · Heighten Sciences Publication Incorporation

Source Reference: In accordance with BOAI, Plan S, DOAJ, and COPE Open-Access Principles.