The conflict between Elsevier, the world’s biggest publisher of scientific journals, and Germany’s entire university system has dragged on since 2015. However, recently Elsevier has approved continuous access to its paywalled journals for researchers at around 200 German universities and other research institutes that had refused earlier to renew their individual subscriptions. The nationwide deal sought by scientists includes an open-access option, under which all corresponding authors affiliated with German institutions would be allowed to make their papers open to read and share by anyone in the world. This would be a signpost for global efforts to make the results of publicly funded research immediately and freely available to scientists.
