News: Academic Publishing Weekly

US research funding updates, Cambridge advocates for AI licensing rules, and publishers reach OA milestones

Posted on February 13, 2026 in News

Updates on Research Funding

Between the NIH’s announcement of the 15 percent cap on indirect costs of grant-funded research last year and this month’s raft of bill approvals that torpedoed that effort, The Chronicle reports there was a “ragtag group” of colleges and other federally-funded research institutions that pulled together a new proposal called the Financial Accountability in Research (FAIR) model. Developed to head off the looming 15 percent cap, it more clearly and transparently frames the eye-glazing density of the current direct and indirect costs scheme. And Congress seems to be on board with it. While the NIH’s cap is in legal limbo for now, the Trump administration has until early April to appeal. Either way, there is a plan B, developed in a spirit of cooperation by grant-funded institutions, which may be an agreeable solution. Meanwhile, we must also wait to see how funding agency leadership shakes out. According to Inside Higher Ed, 15 of the NIH’s 27 institute directors are in acting roles. Whether due to terminations, resignations, or other reasons, more than half of the agency’s leadership are interim. No one seems too worried with the current group of acting directors, but there is some nervousness about who will ultimately be appointed into the open director roles. After all, it’s the institutes that control their own budgets—and grant awards.

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Cambridge Continues Its Watchdog Efforts with AI Licensing Rules

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is continuing its campaign to urge governmental bodies to use existing licensing frameworks to guide how copyrighted works are used in training LLMs. Research Information reports that Cambridge issued two formal submissions to the European Union and India, arguing that the EU Artificial Intelligence Act still has some weak points, “raising concerns that these systems are not yet robust enough to reliably prevent the ingestion of protected content.” Likewise for India, Cambridge noted that the government’s Working Paper on Generative AI and Copyright, which grants a “blanket license” for a flat fee shared by rights holders, would actually “undermine the foundations of copyright law.”

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Checking in on Lawsuits

Referencing an article from STAT News, Inside Higher Ed reports that a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by researchers that alleged academic publishers were using anticompetitive practices. Six publishers were named in the suit: Elsevier, Wolters Kluwer, John Wiley & Sons, Sage Publications, Taylor & Francis, and Springer Nature. The suit alleged that “the publishers violated the Sherman Act, a federal antitrust law, by having researchers peer review articles for free, forbidding the submission of manuscripts to more than one journal at a time, and preventing authors from freely discussing submitted manuscripts.” Plaintiffs used the STM’s International Ethical Principles for Scholarly Publication to support their accusations, but the judge ruled that the document was insufficient evidence of an anti-trust violation. Meanwhile, Cengage Group and Hachette Book Group found themselves defending their decision to join a class action lawsuit for an alleged copyright violation by Google’s Gemini AI. Google’s lawyers, reports Publishing Perspectives, claimed the publishers were “hijacking” the case and recommended they go file their own. In their response filing, the publishers described Google’s claims as “over-the-top”. Go figure.

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University Press Retirement, a (Failed) Deal, New Book Series, and International Love Data Week

Inside Higher Ed reports that a slew of UK universities will not renew a three-year-deal with Elsevier. Joining several UK institutions that have already declined renewal with Elsevier, the University of Sheffield, Lancaster University, and the University of Surrey cited concerns over cost. The University of Essex, which turned down renewal in late January, noted an “unwillingness [from Elsevier] to commit to a shift toward a more sustainable model of open access publishing.” In partnership news, Emerald Publishing and Purdue University announced a co-branded book series to “spotlight cutting edge scholarship across multiple disciplines.” Aiming to address societal issues around the globe, the Emerald-Purdue Research Impact Series will rely on Purdue doctoral research and have at least one faculty member author each book. In university press news, Tom Booth will retire as Oregon State University Press Director at the end of February following more than three decades with the publisher. OSU Press has begun the search for a successor. Finally, it’s International Love Data Week! ACRL Insider collected resources to celebrate this year’s theme, “Where’s the Data?,” which explores “data’s journey from collection through storage and preservation.”

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Open Access Journal Series and Milestones

In response to author demand for “more opportunities to publish in Nature-branded titles,” Springer Nature will launch Nature Progress, an open access journal series within the Nature Portfolio. Starting with two biomedical journals opening for submissions in March, the series will rely on Springer’s in-house editors and “external editorial board members drawn from the research community.” In other OA news, over 1,000 libraries and academic institutions have joined MDPI’s Institutional Open Access Program (IOAP). Thanks to the expansion of consortium deal in Sweden last month, MDPI reached 1,000 participants across 59 countries. IOAP offers participants a more transparent submission process and discount on Article Processing Charges (APC). Last, it’s a week of OA milestones as Wiley reached 125 global transformational agreements. Spanning 45 countries and over 3,500 institutions, the news marks the growth of Wiley’s read-and-publish reach and “[supports] the publication of more than 95,000 open access articles.”

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Let’s Talk Awards, Shall We?

Porchlight Book Company announced the winners of its Business Book Awards. Separated into four categories—Personal Development & Human Behavior, Leadership & Management, Innovation & Creativity, and Current Events & Public Affairs—the awards contain a 40-title longlist with several university press books making the cut. Next, the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction longlist is out! Spotlighting 16 books, the list covers various topics, such as the history of Afghanistan, the English justice system, and refugee experiences. In addition, PEN America revealed the finalists for its 2026 Literary Awards. Including titles in nonfiction, poetry, translation, and more, the list features books from the University of Nebraska Press and the University of Georgia Press. Last, the Rosenblum Award Committee announced the winner of the Rosenblum Award for Scholarly Publishing Impact, the Digital Preservation of the Scholarly Record.

Independent Press Top 5 Bestsellers: Nonfiction
The American Booksellers Association and the Independent Publishers Caucus recently collaborated on an independent bestsellers list, which includes books from independent presses and sold in indie bookshops. Below are the top five nonfiction titles this week. Find this week’s full list of fiction and nonfiction independent bestsellers.

1. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon (Liveright)
2. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions)
3. Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade (Verso)
4. The Company of Owls: A Memoir by Polly Atkin (Milkweed Editions)
5. How to Love (Mindfulness Essentials #3) by Thich Nhat Hanh, Jason DeAntonis (Illus.) (Parallax Press)

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