Elsevier does not consider the existence of an electronic preprint of an article as ''prior publication’’, nor will it require authors to remove electronic preprints of an article from public servers should the article be accepted for publication in an Elsevier journal.   Cell Press and   The Lancet have policies that differ as to preprints, as they will not consider for publication articles that have already been posted publicly. This is a rule agreed upon by   The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. However, both Cell and The Lancet welcome this policy on post-publication posting and will follow it for their journals.

In Short

• If an electronic preprint of an article is placed on a public server prior to its submission to an Elsevier journal, this is not viewed by Elsevier as "prior publication" (with the exception of certain of our medical journals, as agreed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors).
  
• Once an article has been accepted for publication by an Elsevier journal, Elsevier does not require that authors remove it from publicly accessible servers.
• In the interest of correct scientific record, however, Elsevier does request that that authors and their institutions not post any final published versions (Elsevier-provided PDF or HTML files) on open web sites. This is to ensure that the final published version of an article, which has been edited and peer-reviewed according to the publishing standards of an Elsevier journal, is always recognized as such only via the journal itself, whether in print or in electronic format.