The Principles

1. Access has not been fully provided to a research output unless it is Accessible.

2. Accessible means the research output is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.

3. Scholarly communications professionals should seek to remove all barriers to access, including paywalls, accessibility barriers and others.

4. Research outputs should be Born Accessible by default, rather than accessible on demand or requiring a separate version that is available at a later time or through a different channel. 

5. No accessibility standard can capture the accessibility needs profile of an individual; therefore, individual accessibility requests must be responded to.

6. Accessibility enables usability and is not just for the print disabled but is for everyone to customise their reading experience.

7. Accessibility enables machine readability and is not just for humans but for robustness/compatibility with all automated systems.

8. Accessibility helps a research output to reach its true audience, not just those who can perceive/operate/understand it, or access it.

9. Disabled people have economic disadvantages that Open Access initiatives focused on removing paywalls can help with.

10. Open Access has advantages in accessibility that closed access does not, in particular through the absence of DRM technology interfering with assistive technology, the prior consideration of copyright restrictions that might prevent producing accessible versions, and other lack of restrictions on re-use enabling maximised usability.