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The British government has announced that it will make government-funded research freely available beginning next year. The Research Council’s UK announcement states that the new policy “will apply to all qualifying publications being submitted for publication from 1 April 2013” and it “mandates use of the Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ license (CC-BY), when an Article Processing Charge (APC) is levied. The CC-BY licence allows others to modify, build upon and/or distribute the licensed work (including for commercial purposes) as long as the original author is credited.”

The new policy is in line with recommendations made in a recent report by Janet Finch, “Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications.”

In a statement, Science MinisterDavid Willets said that “Removing paywalls that surround taxpayer funded research will have real economic and social benefits. It will allow academics and businesses to develop and commercialise their research more easily and herald a new era of academic discovery. This development will provide exciting new opportunities and keep the UK at the forefront of global research to drive innovation and growth.”

Sources:

• Statement by Research Councils UK. “RCUK announces new Open Access policy.”
• Science Minister David Willet’s letter to Dame Janet Finch on the Government Response to the Finch Group Report: “Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications.”
• Dame Janet Finch. Accessibility, sustainability, excellence: how to expand access to research publications. (“The Finch Report”).
• Ian Sample for the Guardian. “Free Access to British Scientific Research Within Two Years.”
• Alan Wexelblat for the Copyfight blog. “UK Upends Research Publication Model.”