Scientific publications shared for public circulation, e.g. on the publisher’s website, without specifying the rules for further use under a licence.

This term was coined relatively recently (around 2015) in response to the need to include a new category of open access that did not fit the existing definitions.

Publications created as part of Bronze Open Access are classified as:

  • publications released by publishers as open access after an initial embargo
  • publications with content open for editing (including unreviewed)
  • promotional publications shared on a one-time basis
  • publications released by publishers as Gold OA, but not belonging to DOAJ

Articles published by publishers are often unavailable online or change their status from paid to free.

The lack of a clear publishing policy for scientific journals or legal turmoil may lead to more and more publications being shared as Brown OA. This publication model raises a number of doubts and questions, which are also addressed in scientific publications.