Communications / Publishing Issues

Key Points: How the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act Protects Copyright and Advances Science and Scientific Publishing

February 26, 2009 - Passage of H.R. 801, the bipartisan Fair Copyright in Research Work Act is necessary to protect the copyright of private-sector research works and preserve incentives for investments in the peer-review publishing process that helps ensure the quality and integrity of scientific research.  The organizations which publish, disseminate and archive scientific journal articles also manage and finance the vital peer review process.  This legislation is necessary to address serious copyright concerns raised by a recent government mandate that allows the National Institutes of Health to make the content of publishers’ value-added, peer-reviewed journal articles freely available online within 12 months of publication.  The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act is strongly supported by a large number of non-profit scientific societies and commercial publishers involved in the publication of scientific journals.  While supportive of the need to disseminate results of publicly-funded research, these scientific societies and publishers believe this can be done without diminishing copyright protections.  Specifically, the America COMPETES Act directs the National Science foundation to provide access to government-funded research in a way that does not conflict with copyright principles.  The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act will allow the government to continue to disseminate research results, while ensuring that copyright protections in journal articles are not diminished.  

• The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) in September, 2008.  The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property held a hearing on the legislation on September 11, 2008. The bill was reintroduced in the 111th Congress with two additional cosponsors, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Rep. Stephen Cohen (D-TN).

• The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act is needed to prevent the federal government from diminishing copyright protections for works that report on research funded by the federal government where a non-governmental entity has provided substantial funding, or contributed a meaningful added-value and is not a party to the funding agreement.  This protection has existed for nearly a century and provides a necessary incentive for publishers to invest in the peer-review and expert screening of research and to provide and maintain the infrastructure necessary to publish, distribute and archive scientific journal articles.

• The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act will sustain peer review systems which insure the quality and integrity of science.  Non-profit and commercial publishes invest hundreds of millions of dollars every year in the peer review, editing, publishing, disseminating and archiving of scholarly journal articles.  Publishers of peer-review journals manage the recruitment, organization and workflow of peer reviewers and editors who make sure that every article selected and published contributes to the reliability of scientific information.  This bill protects copyright for research works and allows publishers to recoup their investments and continue to invest in the peer review publishing system.

• The Fair Copyright in Research Act will ensure that the government cannot lay claim to private-sector research works in which publishers have made a significant value-added contribution.  The government does not fund peer review--publishers do.  While the federal government may fund the research, they do not fund the value-added, peer-reviewed journal articles on which non-profit and commercial publishers expend significant resources.

• The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act is consistent with the important goal of making the results of tax-payer funded research widely available to the public.  Congress recently addressed this goal in the America COMPETES Act by establishing an access policy for research funded by the National Science Foundation.  The NSF Public Access model make the results of taxpayer funded research available to the public without undermining copyright protections in private-sector journal articles.