Considering a Controversial Copyright Proposal | STAFF PORTAL

"Longtime open-access champion Prof. John Willinsky visited Harvard Library to make his case for a change to copyright law....

Prof. Willinsky’s radical (and certainly controversial) proposal was outlined in his latest book, which was released that day. As Copyright’s Broken Promise: How to Restore the Law’s Ability to Promote the Progress of Science outlines, his action plan to free open science involves publishers releasing their research articles publicly, immediately upon publication, in exchange for a compulsory licensing fee. The fee and licensing would be established by Congress and the US Copyright Office. Who would pay for those license fees? Universities and institutions like Harvard would pay, and the resulting free open science articles would benefit researchers, scientists, scholars, and the public everywhere...."