Tampere University adopts a prior licence model to secure the right to self-archive articles

Tampere University has adopted a prior licence model by decision of President Hämäläinen (TAU/8130/2025). The model follows the example of the internationally adopted Rights Retention Strategy (RRS), which ensures that all peer-reviewed research articles affiliated with the university are openly available in the university’s institutional repository under a Creative Commons licence immediately upon publication.

The prior licence model is based on the recommendations of the international Plan S initiative, and its aim is to secure researchers’ right to archive their article for long-term preservation in the university's institutional repository and to disseminate it openly, regardless of any restrictions imposed by publishers. The model strengthens knowledge security and supports economic sustainability. It will also increase open access to academic publications, which will open new opportunities—such as advancing the development of new artificial intelligence tools and methodologies.

How does the prior licence model work?

The prior licence model applies to manuscripts submitted on or after 1 January 2026. These publications will be made immediately available in the university’s repository Trepo under a Creative Commons licence.

The model covers only peer-reviewed articles published in a scientific journal, conference proceedings, or scholarly edited volume (publication types A1–A4 in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s classification).

The procedure depends on whether the article is published openly under a CC licence or behind a paywall:

• If the article is published behind a paywall in a subscription-based channel, the final peer-reviewed manuscript (Accepted Manuscript) will be self-archived under a CC licence immediately after the official article is published.
  • If the manuscript is not the result of an externally funded research project, the researcher may request an exception to the prior licence model (opt-out). In such cases, the article will be opened according to the publisher’s usual self-archiving policy, which may include an embargo period.
• If the article is published openly under a CC licence, the publisher’s final version (Version of Record) will be self-archived. In these cases, the prior licence model does not change current practices, and the library will handle the deposit automatically.

Researchers do not need to inform the publisher about the prior licence model themselves. Tampere University has described the model and communicated it on its website. If a publisher challenges a researcher who is adhering to the prior licence model for breaching the terms of a publishing agreement, Tampere University will assume legal and financial responsibility for the researcher affiliated with the university.

Additional information:

Researcher’s Guide: Prior licence model

oa [at] tuni.fi (oa[at]tuni[dot]fi)