ISTOCK, LEREMYA group of researchers at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) started an online petition last weekend (April 8) to publically support Couperin.org, a national consortium representing more than 250 academic institutions in France, in its fee negotiations with academic publisher SpringerNature. More than 2,000 people have signed the petition so far.
“We are employed by the institutions members of Couperin. As such, our work will be directly affected should Springer eventually decide to enact their decision and shut down access to their recent contents,” the petition states. “However, we support the firm stance taken by Couperin and we are ready to endure this relative discomfort for as long as it will be necessary to bring Springer to acceptable propositions.”
Fee negotiations between Couperin.org and SpringerNature regarding one of the publisher’s platforms, Springer—which alone has more than 2,000 journals—are stuck in a stalemate. The key point of contention is a rise in subscription costs, which the consortium believes should be reduced in light of the rising proportion of expensive open-access papers.
Last month, the consortium announced that ...
