SAGE opposes America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806) - April 24, 2015
Academic publisher SAGE has joined the leading scientific associations and American universities in opposing the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806). H.R.1806 challenges the value of the social and behavioral science research and restricts the proven processes of the experts at the National Science… Read More
Syrian Books and Journals return to US - April 23, 2015
A coalition of leading publisher and author associations has commended the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department for an amendment to the Syrian Sanctions Regulations permitting the publishing and marketing of manuscripts, books, journals, and newspapers from the war-torn nation under a general license. The Read More
Publishers applaud Congress for introduction of balanced TPA legislation - April 21, 2015
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) commends Chairman Hatch, Senator Wyden and Chairman Ryan for the introduction of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 recognises the importance of strong intellectual property protection for strengthening global economies… Read More
The National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing sign new MoU to support OA publications - March 24, 2015
The National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NSCL) and non-profit scientific publisher IOP Publishing (IOP) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to support open access publications for Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers. The Memorandum indicates the commitment of both organisations… Read More
SPARC applauds reintroduction of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act - March 19, 2015
SPARC, an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication, has applauded the reintroduction of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act, which would ensure that public access to research articles becomes the law… Read More
HHS releases plans for public access to federally funded research - March 9, 2015
On February 27, 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released implementation plans for five HHS agencies based on a common policy approach in response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) 2013 memorandum regarding public access to federally funded research.… Read More
NISO to maintain the UKSG Transfer Code of Practice - February 10, 2015
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and UKSG have announced that the Transfer Code of Practice will now be supported and maintained by NISO. The Code provides voluntary guidelines for publishers to follow when transferring journal titles between parties to ensure that… Read More
Department Of Justice not to challenge IEEE’s proposal to update patent policy - February 5, 2015
The US' Department of Justice has announced that it will not challenge a proposal by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) to update the IEEE Standards Association's (IEEE-SA) patent policy. That policy governs the incorporation of patented technology in… Read More
American Publishers and Authors require OFAC to permit US publication of books and articles from Syria - January 23, 2015
A coalition of leading publisher and author associations has written to the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the Treasury Department demanding that it revise trade regulations that effectively prohibit American publishers from publishing books and journal articles written by Syrian authors. The Association… Read More
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation set to introduce new open access policy in January 2015 - December 22, 2014
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is set to introduce an open access policy next month for the studies it funds that goes further than most other research funders. According to Trevor Mundel, the foundation's president of global health, the policy will enable other researchers… Read More