Crossmark

Crossmark is a multi-publisher initiative from the Crossref organization, designed to provide readers with a quick and standardized way to identify the current status of a piece of content. It signifies that a publisher is committed to maintaining the content it hosts and provides readers with access to the latest version of a document and associated metadata, including corrections, retractions, or other updates.

The Crossmark logo, when displayed on a publication, links to a Crossmark record held by Crossref. This record provides information about the publication, including:

• Publication Status: Whether the content is current, has been corrected, retracted, or withdrawn.
• Metadata Updates: Provides information about any changes made to the article metadata.
• Funding Information: Information about funding sources associated with the publication.
• Licensing Information: Details regarding the license under which the publication is made available.
• Open Access Status: Indicates if the content is available under an open access license.
• Peer Review Information: Information regarding the peer review process the article underwent.
• Citation Information: Citation details for the publication.

Essentially, Crossmark acts as a trust mark, assuring readers that the publisher is actively managing the integrity and accessibility of the published content. It helps readers quickly determine if they are reading the most up-to-date and authoritative version of a given article.