Unlocked is a new service that allows authors to make their articles freely available online, immediately on publication, for a fee. Unlocked is available to any author publishing original research in a BMJ Journal.

The Unlocked fee for BJO is £1,200/$2,220/€1,775 (+VAT)

On acceptance, authors will be asked whether they wish to pay to unlock their paper.

Access to and use of Unlocked articles are covered by the terms and conditions of the exclusive licence agreement, which specifically prohibits commercial use of these articles. Authors participating in Unlocked are able to place the full final version of their article in the depositories of their choice. BMJ Journals will deposit all Unlocked articles in PubMed Central immediately on publication.

The article will be flagged as unlocked on the table of contents and article content box.

If authors do not wish to pay the Unlocked fee, their article will be published in the usual way. The article will remain behind access controls for 12 months. Use of any article published in BJO, including deposition on institutional repositories, is covered by the terms and conditions of the exclusive licence agreement.