[BOAI] Re: Research Works Act H.R.3699: The Private Publishing Tail Trying Again To Wag The Public Research Dog

[David Solomon]

I don't think it has even gotten out of the House of Representatives
yet, Allen. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried.

On Sun, Jan 8, 2012 at 12:11 PM, Allen Kleiman <allenk at panix.com> wrote:
> Has this bill been passed into law?
>
> Has it been challenged in a legal proceeding?
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: boai-forum-bounces at ecs.soton.ac.uk
> [mailto:boai-forum-bounces at ecs.soton.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Stevan Harnad
> Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2012 7:12 PM
> To: Global Open Access List (Successor of AmSci)
> Subject: [BOAI] Research Works Act H.R.3699: The Private Publishing Tail
> Trying Again To Wag The Public Research Dog
>
> ** Cross-Posted **
>
> Full hyperlinked text:
> http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/867-guid.html
>
> EXCERPT:
>
> The US Research Works Act (H.R.3699):
> "No Federal agency may adopt, implement, maintain, continue, or otherwise
> engage in any policy, program, or other activity that -- (1) causes,
> permits, or authorizes network dissemination of any private-sector research
> work without the prior consent of the publisher of such work; or (2)
> requires that any actual or prospective author, or the employer of such an
> actual or prospective author, assent to network dissemination of a
> private-sector research work."
>
> Translation and Comments:
>
> "If public tax money is used to fund research, that research becomes
> "private research" once a publisher "adds value" to it by managing the peer
> review."
>
> [Comment: Researchers do the peer review for the publisher for free, just as
> researchers give their papers to the publisher for free, together with the
> exclusive right to sell subscriptions to it, on-paper and online, seeking
> and receiving no fee or royalty in return].
>
> "Since that public research has thereby been transformed into "private
> research," and the publisher's property, the government that funded it with
> public tax money should not be allowed to require the funded author to make
> it accessible for free online for those users who cannot afford subscription
> access."
>
> [Comment: The author's sole purpose in doing and publishing the research,
> without seeking any fee or royalties, is so that all potential users can
> access, use and build upon it, in further  research and applications, to the
> benefit of the public that funded it; this is also the sole purpose for
> which public tax money is used to fund research.]"
>
> H.R. 3699 misunderstands the secondary, service role that peer-reviewed
> research journal publishing plays in US research and development and its
> (public) funding..
>
> Continued at:
> http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/867-guid.html
>
> Stevan Harnad
>
>
> On Fri Jan 6 16:43:10, Jennifer McLennan wrote:
>
>> Subject: [GOAL] Take Action: Oppose H.R. 3699, a new bill to block
>> public access to publicly funded research
>>
>> A new bill, The Research Works Act (H.R.3699), designed to roll back
>> the NIH Public Access Policy and block the development of similar
>> policies at other federal agencies has been introduced into the U.S.
>> House of Representatives. Co-sponsored by Darrell Issa
>> (R-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), it was introduced on December 16,
>> 2011, and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government
>> Reform.
>>
>> Essentially, the bill seeks to prohibit federal agencies from
>> conditioning their grants to require that articles reporting on
>> publicly funded research be made accessible to the public online.
>>
>> The bill text is short and to the point. The main point reads:
>>
>> "No Federal agency may adopt, implement, maintain, continue, or
>> otherwise engage in any policy, program, or other activity that --
>> (1) causes, permits, or authorizes network dissemination of any
>> private-sector research work without the prior consent of the
>> publisher of such work; or (2) requires that any actual or prospective
>> author, or the employer of such an actual or prospective author,
>> assent to network dissemination of a private-sector research work."
>>
>> Supporters of public access to the results of publicly funded research
>> need to speak out against this proposed legislation. Contact Congress
>> to express your opposition today, or as soon as possible.
>>
>> For contact information and details on how to act, see the Alliance
>> for Taxpayer Access Action Center at:
> http://www.taxpayeraccess.org/action.
>>
>
>
> --
> To unsubscribe from the BOAI Forum, use the form on this page:
> http://www.soros.org/openaccess/forum.shtml?f
>
>
>
> --
> To unsubscribe from the BOAI Forum, use the form on this page:
> http://www.soros.org/openaccess/forum.shtml?f



-- 
David J Solomon, PhD
A-202 E Fee Hall
MSU
E. Lansing, MI 48823 USA
+1 517 353-2037 Ext 223
dsolomonmsuedu at gmail.com