"Corresponding Authors" of Freie Universität Berlin can publish Open Access in Springer Nature journals without individual invoicing. Any Open Access publication fees (Article Processing Charges, APCs) will be paid centrally by the University Library, even if they exceed € 2000 net. Please note that further publication charges (e.g. charges for overlength, color illustrations) may apply which are not centrally funded.

With few exceptions, Open Access rights apply to the publisher's entire journal portfolios in all disciplines, including purely Open Access journals. If you want to be sure that a specific journal is covered by the contract, use the DEAL journal list.

Publishing under the Open Access Transformative Agreement for Nature journals is possible again:
In addition to the journals in the DEAL journal list, all "primary research articles" in Nature and Nature research journals are funded. The following journals are covered:
journal list (Nature and Nature research)

Publishing process:

• Submission and editorial acceptance: "Corresponding Authors" receive an invitation from Springer to complete the publication process for the submitted article.
• Author identification: "Corresponding Authors" confirm their FU affiliation. If possible, please always include your institutional email address throughout the publication process.
• Verification: The identified item will be sent to the University Library for final eligibility verification.
• Publication: Once your affiliation has been confirmed by us, the article will be published Open Access. The OA Funding Note ("Acknowledgement") will be added to the article.
• Cost coverage: Invoice processing through the University Library.

If the manuscript has been rejected by FU Berlin as ineligible, you will be informed and you will be asked to proceed with the payment options. An manuscript may be rejected by us based on the article type or affiliation. You can then either raise the costs for the article elsewhere or, if publishing in a hybrid journal, publish your article free of charge in Closed Access and subsequently achieve Green Open Access.

During the submission process in hybrid journals, you can deselect the Open Access option ("Opt out"). However, in accordance with the Open Access Policy of Freie Universität Berlin, we recommend that you always use the Open Access option within DEAL. During the submission process, confirm the Open Access option offered by the publisher ("Open Choice"). You can usually choose between different Creative Commons licenses. We recommend using the CC-BY license.

Backround:

Building on the success of the current agreement between the publisher Springer Nature and Project DEAL, the new 2024-2028 contract secures OA publishing in Springer Nature's Open Access and hybrid Springer, Palgrave and Adis journals as well as fully OA Nature titles and BMC journals.
Scientists at DEAL institutions receive comprehensive access to Springer Nature's journal portfolio. On the other hand, the "Corresponding Authors" contract with FU affiliation enables OA publishing of "Original Papers", "Review Papers" and "Brief Communications" in almost all journals of the publisher. This means that the contract applies to subscription journals, subscription journals with OA option (so-called hybrid journals) and OA journals of the publisher.

More helpful links:

• Information about the DEAL agreement with Springer Nature

• Author Helpdesk