Access and benefit benefit-sharing (ABS) associated with digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources remains a contentious issue in the lead-up to the 15th meeting of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. A compromise on this issue will likely be necessary for the Parties to reach consensus and adopt the Global Biodiversity Framework. At present, sequence data are overwhelmingly available under open, unrestricted conditions and the broader DSI “data ecosystem” inherently depends on this openness. This study examines how, when, and why open access arose and the working principles of open access publication and open data. It further explores the international policy landscape on open access and concludes with an assessment of the implications that open access has for the ongoing policy debate on digital sequence information. --- This report is a deliverable for the project "Mögliche Optionen für die Behandlung von DSI im Spannungsfeld der 3 CBD-Ziele" with the Grant Number 3519532011, led by the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), which has been commissioned by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation with funds from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors.