Misunderestimating open science

[Commentary] Congress is considering the "Fair Copyright in Research Works Act," that would eviscerate public access to taxpayer funded research. The bill is so badly drafted that it would also wreak havoc on federal information policy more generally. It is supported by the commercial science publishers, but opposed by a remarkable set of groups -- ranging from the American Research Libraries, to 33 Nobel Prize Winners, to a coalition of patients' rights organizations. Its limitations on Federal agencies are completely unworkable. Even if this bill dies the death it so richly deserves, the very fact we are arguing about it indicates how far we have to go in our debates over science policy.

[James Boyle is William Neal Reynolds Professor of Law at Duke Law School and co-founder of Science Commons.]