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Adapting ORBi to the requirements of the Open Access Decree of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
Since the implementation of its submission mandate and the deployment of ORBi in 2008, the University of Liège has maintained a strong stance in favor of Open Access. In line with this commitment, a decision has been made to align ORBi with the obligations of the Open Access Decree of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, both in terms of the articles’ submission process and the evaluation of our researchers.
1.WHAT DOES THE DECREE STATE?
All peer-reviewed journal articles accepted for publication and resulting from research funded in whole or in part by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles must be deposited in open access in an institutional repository.
If the publisher requires it, the decree allows the article to be deposited under an embargo not exceeding:
6 months for science, technology, and (human or veterinary) medicine;
12 months for humanities and social sciences.
This applies to all researchers at ULiège (any researcher conducting research activities in a scientific or educational institution funded in whole or in part by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles).
2. WHICH ARTICLES ARE AFFECTED?
All peer-reviewed journal articles produced at ULiège, accepted for publication or published since 2018. These are considered to be the result of research at least partially funded by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, including indirect funding (salaries, infrastructure, equipment, etc.).
3. WHAT CAN I SUBMIT IN OPEN ACCESS?
You can always deposit in open access :
The final “publisher” version (PDF as distributed by the publisher) of your articles published in an Open Access journal, under a Creative Commons or other open license.
In some cases, the final published version can be submitted in open access even if the journal is not Open Access and a copyright transfer agreement has been signed. Publisher policies are generally available on the journal’s website or via Open Policy Finder.
To help you visualize the difference between versions, here are some examples :
Templates for publication lists compliant with the decree will be introduced for evaluating ULiège and CHU researchers, starting in the 2025–2026 academic year.
Non-compliant articles not submitted in open access will no longer appear in publication lists. A phased approach will allow for the gradual compliance of your articles, starting with the most recent publications.
5. WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR COMPLIANCE?
Publication lists adaptations for compliance will start in the 2025–2026 academic year, following this timeline :
September 2025: articles from 2024 and later
December 2025: articles since 2023
June 2026: articles since 2022
December 2026: articles since 2021
June 2027: articles since 2020
December 2027: articles since 2019
June 2028: articles since 2018
In other words, articles published or accepted for publication since 2024 must comply by September 2025, those from 2023 by December 2025, those from 2022 by June 2026, and so on. As a result, articles not deposited in open access will progressively no longer appear in the publication lists.
6. HOW CAN I EASILY IDENTIFY NON-COMPLIANT ARTICLES?
You'll be able to see all your articles in restricted access. If some of them have an embargo period that is compliant with the FWB decree, please note you don't have to modify them and they will appear in your publication lists.
7. WILL I NEED TO MODIFY MY OLD ARTICLES?
Yes, articles accepted for publication or published since 2018 and identified as non-compliant will need to be updated to make the full text available in open access:
If you still have the “author” version (final accepted manuscript without publisher’s formatting), you can directly submit it as a PDF in open access on ORBi. You can always share this version of your scientific articles as permitted by the amendment to the 39th article of the Economic Law Code on copyright regardless of the contract signed with the publisher. If the publisher requires it, an embargo is allowed but cannot exceed 6 months for sciences, technology, and (human or veterinary) medicine, and 12 months for humanities and social sciences.
If you no longer have the “author” version , you can recreate one from the final published version using this procedure. You can also request assistance for generating the “author” version at step 3 of the submission process. We will then handle it, but cannot guarantee quick processing due to a possible high number of requests.
Articles published in Open Access journals, under Creative Commons or similar licenses can and must always be deposited in ORBi in open access, in their final published version.
8. HOW CAN I MAKE MY ARTICLES COMPLIANT?
Follow this process:
Replace XXXXXX with your ULiège or CHU ID in this URL to view all publications to be updated: https://orbi.uliege.be/decree_not_compliant?uid=XXXXXXX . You'll be able to see all your articles in restricted access. If some of them have an embargo period that is compliant with the FWB decree, please note you don't have to modify them and they will appear in your publication lists.
Was the article published in Open Access or does it include a Creative Commons license ? If yes, submit the final “publisher” version in ORBi, specifying the CC license if applicable.
The article was not published in Open Access? In that case, you can submit in open access:
The final “author” version (final accepted manuscript without publisher’s formatting), as allowed by the amendment to the 39th article of the Economic Law Code on copyrightregardless of the contract signed with the publisher.
We strongly recommend keeping this version whenever possible. If you only have the “publisher” version, you can recreate the “author” version using this procedure. If you have any question, contact the ORBi Team. You can also request assistance for generating the author version at step 3 of the submission process. We will then handle it but cannot guarantee quick processing due to the possible high number of requests.
In some cases, the final published version can be submitted in open access even if the journal is not Open Access and a copyright transfer agreement has been signed. Publisher policies are generally available on the journal’s website or via Open Policy Finder
9. HOW CAN I ENSURE COMPLIANCE FOR FUTURE PUBLICATIONS?
By publishing directly in Open Access journals, allowing you to submit the “publisher” version on ORBi. The DOAJ, for example, lists over 13,000 peer-reviewed or editorially reviewed Open Access journals with no APCs.
By always retaining the “author” version (final manuscript without publisher formatting) to submit it in ORBi (with or without embargo). You can always share this version of your scientific articles as permitted by the amendment to the 39th article of the Economic Law Code on copyright regardless of the contract signed with the publisher.
10. WHAT IS AN "AUTHOR POSTPRINT"?
The author postprint is the final version of the article without the publisher's formatting.
To help you visualize the difference between versions, here are some examples :
11. HOW TO RECREATE AN "AUTHOR VERSION" OF MY ARTICLES?
You can easily recreate, from your published PDF, an "author" version of your article (final published manuscript without publisher formatting) through Word. Follow this procedure.
You can also request assistance for generating the author version at step 3 of the submission process. We will then handle it but cannot guarantee quick processing due to the possible high number of requests.
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