Abstract

This study aims to analyze the contracts of major publishers’ open access (OA) transformative agreements by type, identifying the characteristics and key clauses of each type. The goal of this study is to enhance the understanding of OA transformative agreements in library practice and provide foundational data for developing standardized OA transformative agreement considering the current domestic context. To achieve this, the study selected five contracts representing the two main types of OA transformative agreements and analyzed them using subscription agreements as a comparative framework. The analysis revealed that subscription-based OA transformative agreements exhibit a high degree of similarity to traditional subscription agreements, with most clauses retaining the structure of existing subscription contracts while incorporating OA-related content. In contrast, publication fee-based OA transformative agreements tended to introduce new OA-related clauses instead of adding such content to existing subscription clauses, with notable differences observed between publishers. The study identified specific clauses in traditional subscription models that showed a tendency to have OA-related content added in transformative agreements. Additionally, four common clauses reflecting the characteristics of OA transformation were identified across both types of agreements.