Peer review is the system used to assess the quality of a manuscript before it is published. When a manuscript is first submitted to a journal, it is assessed to see if it meets the criteria for submission. If it does, the editorial team will then select potential independent reviewers within the field of research to peer-review the manuscript and make recommendations specific to originality, validity and significance. The major advantage of this process is that peer-reviewed articles provide a trusted form of scientific communication. Since scientific knowledge is cumulative and builds on itself, this trust is particularly important.

On September 12, 2024, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of a professor at UCLA. The case is pending in the United States District Court – Eastern District of New York.

The lawsuit alleges that six large for-profit publishers of peer-reviewed scholarly journals have colluded and conspired to “unlawfully appropriate billions of dollars that would have otherwise funded scientific research.”

Their alleged collusion consists of three parts.

First, scholars are not compensated for their work, namely the peer review services. Second, the publisher defendants agreed not to compete with each other for manuscripts by requiring scholars to submit their manuscripts to only one journal at a time. A single submission prevents competition among the defendant publishers to review manuscripts promptly and to publish those that demonstrate meritorious research. Third, the publishers agreed to prohibit scholars from freely sharing the scientific and medical advancements described in submitted manuscripts while those manuscripts are under peer review. Peer review may take over a year until full publication.  

In addition, the scholars often sign away their intellectual property rights to their manuscripts and do not receive any compensation, monetary or otherwise. The defendant publishers then publish the scientific information in journals that often have hefty subscription costs for institutions and individuals alike. It is estimated one publisher generated $3.8 billion in revenue from its peer-reviewed journals with an operating profit margin of 38 percent.

The lawsuit seeks treble damages and injunctive and other relief, including an order to enjoin the defendants from continuing to violate the Sherman Act law by requiring them to dissolve the challenged unlawful agreements. As the case progresses, we will continue to provide relevant updates.

Resources:

Academic Journal Publishers Antitrust Litigation (2024)

Academic Publications Draft Complaint (Final Version) (September 12, 2024)

6 major academic publishers face antitrust lawsuit

Peer review practices are “delaying science,” academic claims in lawsuit against six publishers.