Access: the scientific article isimmediately available free of charge to everyone on the journal’s website upon publication (under open CC licenses or within the framework of gratis OA).
Publication costs: covered by the author or the institution funding their research.
Access: the author makes a version of the publication available in an institutional or subject repository — legally and under specific conditions.
This usually applies to article versions such as: preprint (before peer review) or postprint (after peer review, but without the publisher’s formatting).
Publication costs: free access in the repository, though often only after an embargo period, during which the article cannot yet be shared publicly (usually 6–24 months).
Access: some articles within a given journal title are freely available to everyone, while others remain behind a paywall.
Publication costs: libraries and institutions pay subscription fees for access to the journal, while the author may pay an APC (Article Processing Charge) to make their article openly accessible.
Access: full, free access for everyone (open access).
Publication costs: no financial barriers for either authors or readers. Costs are covered by institutions (universities, grants, etc.) so that access to knowledge remains free.
Access: free of charge, but subject to certain restrictions, such as mandatory registration or availability only within a specific time frame.
There is often no clearly defined license (e.g., CC), which limits the reuse of the content.
Publication costs: usually no APC fees for the author; costs are covered by the publisher as part of a subscription journal model.
| Open Access Model | Reader Access | Cost for the Author | Where the Publication Is Available | License | Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Gold OA | Immediate, free access | High (APC) | OA journal website | Usually CC | Fast access, high visibility | High costs |
| Green OA | Free (often after an embargo period) | None | Repository (e.g., institutional repository – PPM) + journal | Depends on the publisher | No costs, broad access | Embargo, different article versions (preprint, postprint) |
| Hybrid OA | Partially free | High (APC) | Subscription journal | Usually CC | Publication in prestigious journals | “Double dipping” (double fees) |
| Diamond OA | Free | None | OA journals funded institutionally | Often CC | No fees, accessible to everyone | Limited funding, less well-known journals |
| Bronze OA | Free (temporary or permanent) | None | Publisher’s website | No clear license | Easy access | Uncertain legal status |
OPEN ACCESS MODELS BASED ON REUSE RIGHTS
GRATIS OPEN ACCESS – is the basic Open Access model, which provides users with free online access to scholarly content without financial barriers.
In the Polish understanding, it means making works available in such a way that everyone can access them anytime and anywhere without paying fees. Users may use them free of charge and without technical restrictions, but only within the scope provided by law, particularly under provisions such as fair use or permitted educational use.
Scope of use:
In the gratis open access model, the user may:
However, the user may not freely:
LIBRE OPEN ACCESS – means free and open access to works or related rights-protected materials. It involves making them available in such a way that every user can access them anytime and anywhere, while simultaneously granting a license for unlimited, free-of-charge, and non-exclusive use of the works and their adaptations. Unlike the gratis open access model, libre open access is not limited to providing free access to content, but also extends to broad possibilities for its reuse. These rights are granted to users through open licenses such as Creative Commons.
Scope of use:
Within the libre open access model, the user may:
At the same time, the user is required to comply with the terms specified in the license, which may include:
The scope of these rights and obligations depends on the specific type of license applied; however, it cannot violate the essence of free, unrestricted, and non-exclusive access to the work.