Microsoft commits to the Open Science movement | The Verge

"Microsoft will aim to make all of its scientific research publicly accessible in a move to spread 'the fruits of its research and scholarship as widely as possible.' Since its formation in 1992, the research arm of Microsoft has authored or helped author many papers, but this research is often submitted to commercial journals such as Nature. While these journals remain invaluable to the scientific community, in recent years some institutions have begun to establish more open, collaborative workflows, allowing peers to access research without cost or hassle. Under the terms of Microsoft's new policy, which was first reported by Recode, authors are free to publish their work to private journals, but Microsoft will retain the rights to add the research to its open database where possible. This approach is called Open Science, and it's continuing to rise in popularity. Microsoft notes in a blog post explaining the move that the scientific community is 'undoubtedly in the midst of a transition in academic publishing,' and the company's sentiments are clearly echoed by pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson, which similarly announced recently it will release clinical trial data through Yale University's Open Data Access Project ..."