We’re excited to introduce a new beta feature that allows users to purchase and unlock closed-access research papers directly within Cypris using pre-loaded credits. This eliminates the need to manage multiple paper storage systems or navigate complex purchase processes.
Why We Built This Feature
Most organizations don’t subscribe to every major publisher and instead rely on individual paper purchases. If you don’t have a corporate card, you often have to go through approval processes or resort to personal funds. Once purchased, the paper might get lost in a publisher’s library or buried in a shared drive, making it easy to lose track of—and sometimes repurchase—papers.
To address this, we’re testing a credit-based system that lets you unlock papers directly in Cypris. Cypris processes the transaction under your ownership using your credit balance. Once purchased, the paper is immediately uploaded to your Cypris library, the credits are deducted from your balance, and everything is kept in one central location.
User Needs Addressed
- Seamless Purchasing: Unlock closed-access papers without leaving Cypris.
- Credit Balance Management: Easily check your balance and add more as needed.
- Faster Access: See the paper in your dashboard within 15 minutes (we’ll work on reducing this time).
How It Works
- Find a locked paper – Closed-access papers are marked with a locked icon.
- Check pricing & purchase – Click the icon to see the price, enter your email, and complete the purchase using your credit balance.
- Track your order – Papers will show a ‘Pending’ status and unlock within 15 minutes (or the next morning for purchases after 6 PM EST).
- Access & download – Once unlocked, papers appear in the Unlocked Research Papers section, accessible through the left side panel, ready for download.
You can also navigate back to the paper and check for the green unlock button to confirm access.
Why is This in Beta?
Closed Access Credits is a new feature we’re testing, and we’re still ironing out some of the technical details. Initially, we’re working with a select group of customers to gather feedback and refine the system. Our goal is to eventually make this feature available to all users.
Copyright Restrictions
Papers will be purchased in the user’s name individually and will be governed by the ‘individual paper purchase’ rights and restrictions issued by the publisher. Since we’re using our users' direct budget for purchases, Cypris is considered a payment and storage service provider for research (like Stripe and Google Drive).
We’re actively having conversations with publishers on terms for one day being able to have the copyright allowances to let users share papers organization-wide and expand what we can do with the papers, like integrate our AI. We’ll keep users posted as conversations progress.