Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Once again we have a controversy about who owns publicly funded research.

There is much debate recently about who owns the results of research that is funded by the public. See here for one article on recent policy statements. The simple answer is that when the public funds research, the public should have free access to the results.

Reality seldom is simple.

(1) There is the argument that no research stands alone. You may fund me for the next six months, but I am contributing ten years of other work to this research. The public may see what they funded, but not the rest. And no one can separate the two parts.

(2) There is the argument that you should not mix your past work with what the public funds. If you mix them, too bad for you.

I tend to agree with (2). I know there are severe consequences that go with that argument. Still, researchers are adults. If you accept public funds from a government agency, strings come with the money. If you don’t want the strings, don’t take the money.