Read & Publish Agreement with Elsevier Signed for 2024 - 2028

The agreement with Elsevier guarantees members of Swiss higher education institutions and participating organizations full access to Elsevier's entire journal portfolio. Additionally, it offers unlimited Open Access publishing in over 2,500 Elsevier journals, including the Cell Press and The Lancet series, at no extra cost. All institutions also benefit from permanent access to journal content published during their participation in the contract ("Post Cancellation Access").

swissuniversities emphasized the quality of publications during negotiations. With the "all inclusive" agreement, there is no longer an incentive to increase the number of publications to generate additional revenue. The flat-rate compensation for publications provides institutions with great planning security, clarity, and simplicity in implementation.

The inclusion of the Cell Press and The Lancet portfolios in the contract eliminates "costs in the wild": publication fees for these journals, previously paid decentrally, will now be centralized and financed by the institutions.

The agreement also specifies the use of artificial intelligence (AI) with licensed content, ensuring members of Swiss higher education institutions and organizations the greatest possible freedom in using AI tools to analyze Elsevier publications for research, teaching, and innovation. It allows for the analysis of Open Access publications (licensed under "CC BY") with any AI tool or their use for developing AI applications. It also permits the use of AI tools as long as the licensed content is not used for further model development. The use of learning AI tools or the development of AI applications is possible if they are hosted locally by the higher education institution or operated by third parties exclusively for the institution.