Will accessing scientific knowledge ever become totally free? (Pictured here, the book tower at Prague's Municipal Library, the Czech Republic). Lysander Yuen/Unsplash, CC BY Scientific research publishing is a particularly lucrative industry. The most recent estimates suggest that it generates around 19 billion US dollars (or 16.67 billion euros) in annual turnover, with margins of around 40 per cent. These staggering figures largely reflect the fact that the “Big Five” commercial publishers, s