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September 30, 2008
The Attempt to Reverse the Nation's First Public Access Mandate
SPARC enews for September 2008 starts with the information about the bill attempting to reverse the NIH Public Access Policy by proposing legislation known as the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act (HR6845).
The news provides the "NIH Update" about the status of the aforementioned policy, see, https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:5584.1340671215/rid:dc7f80ddb2201fa70273ea2a9e32b5ce#spnews, viewed Sept. 20, 2008).
At the beginning of 2008 "Library Journal" Academic Newswire (Jan 3, 2008) and other media announced that on December 26, 2007 President Bush signed the NIH Public Access Policy mandating the NIH "to provide the public with open online access to its funded research. Researchers are now required to deposit electronic copies of their peer-reviewed manuscripts into the National Library of Medicine's online archive, PubMed Central. Full text of these articles will then be publicly available and searchable online no later than 12 months after publication."
Thanks to an intensive work of librarians, SPARC, research institutions, public and patients, and due to lobbying for the support of public access, the NIH Public Access Policy was signed into a mandate. Publishers, however, promised to oppose this bill and lobby against it, see http://www.libraryjournal.com/info/CA6516694.html?nid=2673#news2 (viewed Sept. 17, 2008).
As a result of publishers' decisive opposition on September 9, "Representative John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, introduced legislation that would amend U.S. copyright law, overturn the NIH Public Access Policy, and effectively make it illegal for other U.S. federal agencies to enact similar policies. The proposed legislation is the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act (HR6845). Currently, as of 9/9/2008 this legislation is "Referred to House committee [and] referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary", see link above.
The battle will continue in 2009, and may last even longer. People who support the NIH policy and public access give their voice and disseminate information to lobby their cause. "The House Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet held a hearing to proposed legislation" on Sept. 11, 2008.
In support for the NIH Public Access policy Congress also received letters of from 33 Nobel prize-winners, see [PDF].
For more information visit the ATA Web site
Wanda Rosinski
Posted by colldev at September 30, 2008 11:13 PM