[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3699 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3699

  To ensure the continued publication and integrity of peer-reviewed 
                 research works by the private sector.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2011

Mr. Issa (for himself and Mrs. Maloney) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure the continued publication and integrity of peer-reviewed 
                 research works by the private sector.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Research Works Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AGENCY ACTION.

    No Federal agency may adopt, implement, maintain, continue, or 
otherwise engage in any policy, program, or other activity that--
            (1) causes, permits, or authorizes network dissemination of 
        any private-sector research work without the prior consent of 
        the publisher of such work; or
            (2) requires that any actual or prospective author, or the 
        employer of such an actual or prospective author, assent to 
        network dissemination of a private-sector research work.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Author.--The term ``author'' means a person who writes 
        a private-sector research work. Such term does not include an 
        officer or employee of the United States Government acting in 
        the regular course of his or her duties.
            (2) Network dissemination.--The term ``network 
        dissemination'' means distributing, making available, or 
        otherwise offering or disseminating a private-sector research 
        work through the Internet or by a closed, limited, or other 
        digital or electronic network or arrangement.
            (3) Private-sector research work.--The term ``private-
        sector research work'' means an article intended to be 
        published in a scholarly or scientific publication, or any 
        version of such an article, that is not a work of the United 
        States Government (as defined in section 101 of title 17, 
        United States Code), describing or interpreting research funded 
        in whole or in part by a Federal agency and to which a 
        commercial or nonprofit publisher has made or has entered into 
        an arrangement to make a value-added contribution, including 
        peer review or editing. Such term does not include progress 
        reports or raw data outputs routinely required to be created 
        for and submitted directly to a funding agency in the course of 
        research.
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