Open access policy

Applied Biofilm Science (ABS) is a fully Open Access journal. We believe that freely disseminating research accelerates scientific discovery, fosters global collaboration, and ensures that critical findings regarding food safety, industrial hygiene, and human health are available to practitioners and researchers worldwide without financial barriers.

1. Free and Immediate Access

Applied Biofilm Science adheres strictly to the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of Open Access. All articles published in this journal are freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication.

• For Readers: There are no subscription fees, paywalls, or registration requirements to read, download, or share our published articles.

• Embargoes: We do not employ embargo periods. Access is open from the moment of publication.

2. Licensing and User Rights

All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this license, readers and other researchers are free to:

• Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.

• Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Condition of Use: The user must give appropriate credit (citing the original authors and the publication in Applied Biofilm Science), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.

3. Copyright Retention

Authors publishing with Applied Biofilm Science retain full copyright and publishing rights to their work without restrictions.

• Authors grant the journal the right of first publication.

• We do not require authors to transfer copyright to the journal or the publisher.

4. Self-Archiving and Preprints (Green Open Access)

We actively encourage authors to share their work to maximize visibility and impact.

• Preprints: Authors may share their submitted manuscript (preprint) on non-commercial preprint servers (e.g., bioRxiv), institutional repositories, or personal websites at any time prior to acceptance.

• Post-prints and Final Versions: Authors are permitted to deposit the accepted, peer-reviewed version (post-print) and the final published PDF (Version of Record) into any institutional or public repository immediately upon publication.

• Updating Links: We ask that authors update any preprint records with the final DOI link to the published article in Applied Biofilm Science once available.

5. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To support the launch of the journal and encourage high-quality submissions from the global research community, Applied Biofilm Science is offering a full APC waiver for all accepted manuscripts submitted before January 1, 2028.

• Submissions through 2027: There are zero costs for authors. We do not charge submission fees, editorial processing charges, article processing charges (APCs), or page charges. All articles accepted during this period will be published fully Open Access at no cost to the authors.

• Submissions from 2028 Onward: To sustain our Open Access model, offset the costs of rigorous peer review, professional typesetting, and long-term digital preservation, manuscripts submitted on or after January 1, 2028, will be subject to a standard Article Processing Charge (APC) upon acceptance. The exact APC amount will be announced in late 2027.

• Waivers for Low-Income Countries: Even after the introduction of APCs in 2028, the journal remains committed to global scientific equity. We will provide automatic full waivers for corresponding authors based in low-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) and offer discretionary discounts for researchers facing severe funding constraints.

6. Long-Term Preservation

To guarantee that our Open Access content remains permanently available, Applied Biofilm Science utilizes the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP PN) and [Insert CLOCKSS/LOCKSS if applicable] to create decentralized, permanent archives of the journal for long-term digital preservation.