Scientist Must Pay to Read His Own Paper

Glyn Moody writes "Peter Murray Rust, a chemist at Cambridge University, was lost for words when he found Oxford University Press's website demanded $48 from him to access his own scientific paper, in which he holds copyright and which he released under a Creative Commons license. As he writes, the journal in question was "selling my intellectual property, without my permission, against the terms of the license (no commercial use)." In the light of this kind of copyright abuse and of the PRISM Coalition, a new FUD group set up by scientific publishers to discredit open access, isn't it time to say enough is enough, and demand free access to the research we pay for through our taxes?"

Comments

Hold the Sensationalism

[ParticleMan911]

"demanded $48 from him to access his own scientific paper" Tell the story, leave out the sensationalism. The site didn't demand anything, and don't act like the author expected to automatically download it because he wrote it. If they are selling it without permission, just say so and don't add this nonsense. /. editors should not have posted this rendition of the story.

I don't agree to pay for research through my taxes

[dada21]

I know some "scientists" who have government grants for "research" that I likely pay a part of through my taxes. One of my best friends from High School is a PhD in an earth science, and he's always jumping from grant to grant to grant, and his research is mostly useless from a market perspective.

How about instead of "freeing up" research based on money that is stolen, we just stop the steal-and-pay mentality of government research grants, and let the market economy support what it needs and deny what it doesn't need?

If some poor researcher loses funding, and industry realizes they had something good to say or study, they'll get the money quick enough, plus they can decide who to offer it to and at what price. It is no different than the guy who washes cars: if government paid him to do it, he'd be charging $100 an hour and would forget to use water.

Re:UbuntuDupe Untangling Squad

[Lumpy]

If scientists are so bigoted they only deign to acknowledge work published in overpriced, unnecessary, exploitative publishers' journals, the problem is on the scientists' end.

It's not scientists, it's the Academic types. upper Academics are full of bigots and always has been. Real geniuses always get panned by them until their research generates a huge uproar ouside their little silly boys club. Einstein, had to deal with the Bigots as well as many MANY other geniuses of our time.

It has always been that way, and is why more and more of the newer science students are going against it and breaking ranks. honestly it should have happened decades ago but they have quite a bit of power over you as a researcher if they do not allow your work to be published in their holy tomes.