Opposition to Elsevier’s support for US Research Works Act spreads to UK

Senior researchers in the UK are going public with refusals to work with Anglo-Dutch publisher Elsevier over its support for the proposed US Research Works Act.

Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, has publicly refused a request to review a paper in a paid-for journal, while Fields medallist Tim Gowers, professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, has launched a petition on the subject, which has so far attracted more than 4,000 signatures from across the world. These are scientists who are refusing to publish in Elsevier journals, referee for the company or carry out other editorial work. In many cases, signatories have refused to do all three.