Embargo Policies

CROI embargo policies are designed to ensure that the scientific community and the public receive full and accurate information about research that will be presented at the conference.  It is essential that study details be presented and discussed before they are made public, and the embargo policies help to prevent dissemination of inaccurate, incomplete, or premature conclusions. CROI requests that all conference participants familiarize themselves with these embargo policies, which will be strictly enforced.

Embargo Policy: All research to be presented at CROI is embargoed until the studies are presented at the conference.

  • For Oral Abstracts:  Embargoes on studies presented as part of Oral Abstract sessions lift at the conclusion of the presentation. For example, if a study is presented from 10:10 AM to 10:18 AM US Mountain Time (MT), as part of a session that begins at 10:00 AM and ends at 12:00 PM, the embargo on that study lifts at 10:18 AM MT.
  • For Poster and ePosters; Effective March 1, 2024: embargoes on Posters lift when the Poster Hall opens and when Posters are displayed and/or available electronically, at 3 PM Mountain Time, Saturday, March 2, 2024. This updates and clarifies the previous policy in which embargoes were lifted on Poster presentations at the start of the scheduled poster session in which the author attends that Poster or a Themed Discussion at which the Poster is discussed.

Press conference embargo policies: Embargo policies on research presented in CROI press conferences lift at the end of the press conference panel or at the end of the presentation of the study in its regular conference session, whichever is earlier.

Social media: No public dissemination of the research information from the conference is permitted prior to the lifting of the conference embargoes. CROI embargo policies apply to any public dissemination of research information presented at the conference, including electronic publications (eg, blogs) or social media (eg, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok). Please do not live tweet from sessions until the embargo lifts or post photos of presentation slides without author permission.

Announcements of accepted abstract presentation details, including specific titles, authors, abstract numbers, and times/days of presentation: The specific titles of abstracts, author names and affiliations, and times/days of presentation may not be broadly disseminated to the public at large until the work is actually presented as described in the previous policy language. Broadly disseminated to the public at large is:  through publicly accessible non-CROI websites, local, institutional, or organization list serves (with the exception of bona fide research networks directly involved in the planning and conduct of the research being presented), social media, and similar avenues.  Abstract titles often contain statements representing results or conclusions, but are inadequate to describe the details of the research and taken in isolation may be misleading or inaccurate; dates and times of presentations may change; and abstracts may be withdrawn either by the authors or by the organizers, leading to confusion or inaccurate information.  This embargo policy is similar to such policies in place by medical and scientific journals that preclude announcing the expected publication of articles that are scheduled to be published, until the time and date that the embargo of the article contents is also lifted.

As indicated above, this policy on announcements does not preclude limited announcements of presentation details of accepted work within specific research networks/groups, collaborators, funders, investigator meetings, and other such groups directly involved with the research.  Nor does it preclude pre-CROI investigator or small group meetings of attendees or other registrant/attendee meetings that include reference to  interesting abstracts that are expected to be presented at CROI as long as 1) the research details are not discussed or presented (again, that must await the full presentation of the research), and 2) the abstract titles and presentation details are not disseminated to the public beyond the meeting attendees, either by the meeting hosts or by the attendees themselves.

What may be broadly advertised outside of the embargo policies are the details of invited sessions (opening session talks, plenary lectures, interactive symposia titles and speakers) as well as abstract session titles (but not the titles of the specific abstracts in the session) from the time they are made publicly available on the CROI website or ny CROI via email and other announcements.

Copyright Policies

CROI conference materials (including, but not limited to, the CROI Program Guide, Abstract eBook, electronic posters, CROI logo, etc) are protected by copyright. Any part of CROI materials (such as an abstract as formatted in the CROI Abstract eBook or poster as presented in the Platform) cannot be published without prior CROI approval and approval of the authors. Permission to replicate or reproduce these elements must be obtained from the CROI Conference Manager, the International Antiviral Society-USA (IAS-USA). However, study data are the property of the author(s) and study sponsors as relevant. For more information, please email CROIabstracts@iasusa.org.

Press Releases and Other Media Materials

CROI defines a “press release” as any material (print, electronic, video, or audio) designed to facilitate media coverage of a study presented at the conference, including media advisories, fact sheets, or other media materials.

Press releases or other media materials on research studies presented at CROI may not be distributed until the news embargo on the study in question lifts.

Releases that address several studies: If several studies are addressed in 1 release, that release may be made available at the time of the latest embargo lift.

“Material information” exceptions: Publicly traded companies that determine that they must disclose general findings of a research study to be presented at CROI in order to satisfy US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requirements must notify the conference organizer at CROIabstracts@iasusa.org and provide a copy of their release and their distribution plans in advance. Such releases may include only general findings (not the full data to be presented at the meeting) and may not reference the Conference or the presentation by name.

Conference-dedicated publications: Any print or electronic publication devoted to the coverage of the Conference (eg, meeting highlights, online Conference proceedings or reporting, audio conferences, fax newsletters, and abstract compilations) must have the prior written approval of the Conference Organizer.

Publication of slides: Reproduction of slides presented at CROI is only permitted with the express, prior written consent of the author.