Questions for EU policymakers on open access and socially responsible licensing:
Should EU funding continue to be awarded without any strings attached with regards to social responsibility or openness? Should market-driven patent monopolies be supported by Horizon 2020 to the detriment of greater access to effective and affordable needs-driven objectives, such as health treatment?
Will H2020 encourage the non-exclusive or conditional licensing of patented technologies? How will H2020 generate the highest possible social benefit from publicly funded research? Will H2020 adopt socially responsible licensing and ethical technology transfer rules following the example of other research organizations and universities in the EU and the US?
How will H2020 encourage researchers to collaborate and share knowledge within a flexible and open approach to intellectual property rights? How will H2020 promote open access to data financed with EU grants? Will EU financed clinical trial data continue to be shrouded in secrecy and privatized in detriment to efficiency, ethics and scientific excellence?
What legal obligations will H2020 adopt to insure open access publishing of results of research financed by the EU? Given the high cost of scientific journals, the efficiency of wide dissemination and
importance of sharing knowledge, how will H2020 mandate open access publishing and within what time framework and financial conditions?
David Hammerstein, TACD