Research Works Act withdrawn

This is good news: the Research Works Act, which sought to prevent the government from requiring that work that they fund should be made publicly available, has been withdrawn. Elsevier withdrew their support for the act a couple of days ago.

Some are interpreting this as a change of heart on Elsevier’s part.  Mmmm.  I guess that’s within the bounds of possibility.  Or is this a case of “he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day?”.  Note this sentence in Elsevier’s press release: “While we continue to oppose government mandates in this area, Elsevier is withdrawing support for the Research Work Act itself.”