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IIf the open flow of scientific information is a fundamental part of science, then the scientific community is in trouble. Academic publishers, who dominate scientific publishing, derive great financial benefits from the work of scientists, who are often frustrated and handcuffed by the process. I believe that blockchain technology, if properly exploited, can allow the change that the industry badly needs. This instrument of transparency can restore the power of science to scientists by offering them unprecedented levels of control over their work.
A report by Deutsche Bank once described the "bizarre triple pay system" of scientific publishing. It works like this: Scientists, funded by governments with taxpayer dollars, do research and write articles about them under their own direction, and then give them to publishers free. Although publishers pay to scientific publishers to review those articles, most of the work, such as the peer review process to verify scientific validity and evaluate the experiments, is done by volunteer scientists. The publishers then sell the articles to institutions financed by the government, universities and individuals at exorbitant prices, to be read by scientists, who are the ones who created those articles in the first place.
This is an imperfect industrial landscape, largely controlled by an oligopolistic status quo.
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In 1973, the five major publishers of natural and medical sciences (Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Wiley-Blackwell, Springer and Sage) accounted for just over 20 percent of all the articles published in those sectors. By 2013, their share had risen to 53%. Limited competition in the publishing industry gives these editors excessive control over subscription fees. For example, Elsevier's profit margin eclipses those of large technology companies like Google, Amazon and Apple. Let it sink for a minute.
The current nature of the sector generates numerous problems affecting the research community: the high cost of access to academic research, the author's rights held by publishers instead of the authors, the lack of awards and prizes for reviewers and proliferation of low-quality magazines. Another major problem affecting the industry is prolonged and sometimes partial publication and peer review processes, where academic journals often allow authors to suggest potential reviewers, making it incredibly easy to play the system and gain timely and brilliant reviews.
I believe these problems can be addressed through a comprehensive industry approach to blockchain technology. I think it's so strong that I co-founded Orvium, the first company to provide an open source and decentralized structure for managing academic publications.
Blockchain technology would make it possible to build an infrastructure that allows open, reliable, decentralized and collaborative environments that allow researchers to present their work in the public register, with the largest scientific community able to control the way in which these documents are modified and updated.
Blockchain in action
Let's say that I have just completed a document on the off-target effects of CRISPR use to treat sickle cell anemia. Publishing it with blockchain would work like this: using a browser, load the report on a blockchain-based publishing platform. Using an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), which provides a persistent digital identifier, I can distinguish myself from other users on the platform. ORCID also provides a public access mechanism that is perfect for managing researcher IDs.
Blockchain technology would allow my manuscript to be available from the moment it was presented, creating an independent, decentralized and immutable proof, proof of date, existence, paternity and property.
Third-party companies have made huge profits from the work of scientists for many years, selling magazines and reprints to a variety of institutions. In blockchain-based scientific publishing, researchers would check if institutions are forced to pay to use their work, while making it freely available to the public and researchers alike, if they wish.
Using blockchain technology, the entire editorial history and the quality of the research of a manuscript could be evaluated continuously. If the manuscripts are available from the time they are presented, even in an initial draft state, then the cumbersome process of resubmitting the research would be eliminated and the spread of the manuscripts would be greatly accelerated.
Accelerated review; sparking new discoveries
Despite considerable advances in information technology, the time spent submitting a manuscript to publication is a long and complicated process, averaging 12 months between submission and publication. On average, 17 weeks of this time are taken exclusively from the peer-review process. By creating incentives to contribute to peer review through recognized symbolic and economic awards, harnessing the power of blockchain technology can dramatically speed up the speed with which the academic review process occurs, radically changing the landscape of academic publishing as we know it.
Blockchain technology also opens the doors to more discoveries thanks to the scientists' empowerment. I believe that recognizing and rewarding the scientific community for its role in the peer review process will provide incentives for more researchers to become active, participatory and presumptive. By establishing a decentralized and competitive market, blockchain can help align goals and incentives for researchers, funding agencies, academic institutions, publishers and governments.
Redefining the property
The publication based on Blockchain would allow authors to maintain ownership of their work through what are called non-fungible resources. These are mechanisms to define and archive blockchain articles such as copyrights, academic titles and certificates. A non-fungible token is a special type of cryptographic token that represents a unique and non-interchangeable asset. Unlike cryptocurrencies or utility tokens that are negotiable among users, non-interchangeable resources are used to represent the author's rights or proprietary licenses of the research authors or purchasers of the buyer.
Think of these tokens as the digital versions of the wardrobe tickets. Everyone is released by a wardrobe attendant and redeemable only for the coat. The underlying element is an agreement, a product or a service.
These changes will take time, but they have already started. Orvium is developing a blockchain-based scientific publishing platform. We are not alone. Others, such as Pluto Network, Scienceroot, Code for Science and the Open Science Organization are helping to create decentralized ecosystems that will revolutionize access to scientific knowledge. By leveraging and integrating cutting-edge technologies, these companies are working to create platforms to process, validate and disseminate research data and results.
We all share the objective of challenging the status quo of elite publishers, establishing a transparent, complete and competitive business model to earn modest revenues by supporting global research and by firmly putting power in the hands of researchers.
Blockchain-based publishers can not revolutionize the system by themselves. This will require a more concerted effort in the academic publishing industry as a whole. Researchers, funding agencies, academic institutions, publishers, companies and governments that will collaborate will be needed to create a fairer, transparent and competitive market controlled by the entire community, free from hidden oligopolies and interests.
The blockchain-based publication, once little more than an ambitious ambition, can level the playing field in scientific publishing and offer researchers and research institutions full control over the life cycle of academic publications. I imagine a future in which researchers are free to set terms and prices for press rights, redistribution, download, translation and reuse of their work. With blockchain that allows a more efficient and revolutionary scientific research, we are at the top of a new, dynamic and transparent academic publishing panorama.
There are exciting times.
Manuel Martin is CEO and co-founder of Orvium.
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