Nominations will be judged by a panel of unbiased, eminent experts, who will select a final set of laudable examples which best illustrate the program’s stated purpose. The judges will consider Nominations according to two primary questions and criteria:
- Did the Nominated Use Case lead to an innovation in any field and/or benefit society as a whole?
- Does the Innovative Use showcase the value of Open Access?
Additionally, for each nomination, the research that the Innovative User(s) relied upon must have been:
- Published before May 1, 2013, in a peer-reviewed journal or in a repository recognized in the Open Access community. If the innovative use creates a scholarly output, it must be Open Access.
- Made immediately available upon publication and licensed only under CC BY or CC0 terms.
Also, the nominated work done by the Innovative User must have been:
- Complete as of May 1, 2013 or substantially completed but ongoing as of that date.