As of February 2022, the University of California (UC) has a three-year open access agreement with the Biochemical Society / Portland Press. The agreement includes open access publishing of an unlimited number of articles by corresponding authors at all ten UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and provides researchers throughout the UC system with unlimited reading access to the full portfolio of the Biochemical Society / Portland Press.
This agreement has two goals: (1) to support UC’s mission as a public university and advance the global shift toward sustainable open access publishing by making UC-authored publications open to the world, and (2) to maintain journal affordability. As with UC’s other transformative open access agreements, the UC libraries are providing funding to help cover open access publishing fees for UC authors who publish with the Biochemical Society / Portland Press.
- Agreement Basics
- Impact for Authors
- Article Payment Process
- Resources
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Agreement Basics
What are the basic terms of the agreement?
The agreement runs from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025 and covers open access publishing in the Biochemical Society / Portland Press’s hybrid (subscription-based) and open access journals. It includes all ten UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
How does the agreement work?
Under the agreement, UC corresponding authors who publish open access in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals can do so at no cost to them. For details, see below under “Article Payment Process.”
UC has shifted its investment from paying to read Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals to paying based on UC authors publishing in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals. Based on careful modeling of UC publication rates, baseline fees have been established, with these amounts paid in bulk by UC. The exact amounts paid will be determined by UC corresponding author choices to publish open access, and the amount authors contribute from their research funds.
Cost controls have been put in place so that the total owed by UC in any year of the agreement is bounded, and APC rates will remain the same throughout the term of the agreement.
Impact for Authors
The agreement runs from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025 and covers open access publishing in the Biochemical Society / Portland Press’s hybrid (subscription-based) and open access journals. It includes all ten UC campuses and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
How does the agreement work?
Under the agreement, UC corresponding authors who publish open access in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals can do so at no cost to them. For details, see below under “Article Payment Process.”
UC has shifted its investment from paying to read Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals to paying based on UC authors publishing in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals. Based on careful modeling of UC publication rates, baseline fees have been established, with these amounts paid in bulk by UC. The exact amounts paid will be determined by UC corresponding author choices to publish open access, and the amount authors contribute from their research funds.
Cost controls have been put in place so that the total owed by UC in any year of the agreement is bounded, and APC rates will remain the same throughout the term of the agreement.
Impact for Authors
Yes, if you are (1) a UC affiliate (faculty, lecturer, staff, graduate student) at one of UC’s campuses or the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (2) you are the article’s corresponding author, and (3) you choose to publish your article open access in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals. If you want to publish your article open access in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals, UC has negotiated a deal that will make it more cost effective for you to do so. The agreement also expands reading access to the Society’s journals to all UC-affiliated faculty, lecturers, staff, and students. Only corresponding authors are covered by the publishing aspects of this agreement. The Biochemical Society / Portland Press considers the corresponding author to be the person listed as the contact person during the submission/production/publication process, and who is identified as “Author for correspondence” on the final published article. In general, the corresponding author is the person who oversees the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process – from manuscript corrections and proofreading, to handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts. The corresponding author has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript including supplementary material. The corresponding author acts as the point of contact for any inquiries after the paper is published. All articles in Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals are covered by this agreement. The agreement will apply to articles accepted from January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2025. All of the Biochemical Society / Portland Press’s journals are included, which include Biochemical Journal, Clinical Science, Bioscience Reports, Neuronal Signaling, Biochemical Society Transactions, Essays in Biochemistry, and Emerging Topics in Life Sciences. Under the agreement, your APC will be fully and automatically covered by the UC libraries. After your article has been accepted in a Biochemical Society journal, you will be notified of the option to publish open access at no cost to you under the agreement. To ensure that your article is properly flagged as eligible for open access coverage, it is recommended that you indicate your UC affiliation and/or use your UC email address during the submission process. Other than indicating your UC affiliation and selecting the open access option, no action is needed by you as the corresponding author. You won’t receive an invoice nor will you need to seek approval from your campus library. More information is available via: Or from your campus library:Am I affected by this agreement?
Who is considered a corresponding author?
Which articles and types of publications are covered by this agreement?
Which Biochemical Society / Portland Press journals are included in this agreement?
Article Payment Process
If I choose to publish open access, how do payments work?
Resources
What if I have questions or need help?
