elfs | The Unfairness Doctrine for Science Publishing! (Reply)

Representative John Conyers (D-Mi) has introduced a bill that would reverse the NIH's Public Access Policy to any and all studies funded with taxpayer money, and would likewise make it difficult for other agencies to do the same.

In the last election, the science community put its weight behind the Democrats because eight years of Republican rule had decimated public funding for research and placed a strangehold of regulations on private research interests. Now, unfortunately, one arm of that community wants its piece of the pie: a "Fair Copyright Act" that would forbid the NIH and other agencies from requiring open licensing agreements for federally funded work.

Your tax dollars would go to research that the NIH could use but not publish; the research teams would be free to find other publishing outlets, and reap private rewards for their success with public funding. This is contrary to every basic premise of the US government: if the taxpayer paid for it, the taxpayers should be able to see what they paid for, without qualifications or exorbitant fees.

The Alliance for Taxpayer Access has an example letter up on its website. Project VoteSmart has a "find your representatives and legislators" function on their website. Let it be known that you oppose the selling of America's public intellectual property to the highest bidder.