&gt; When publishing in a journal, I think you transfer your copyright to them<p>That is correct. I have done this for every publication I&#x27;ve ever put out (O(10)). There may be exceptions but this is certainly the dominant paradigm in the physical sciences.<p>My two cents: this is bigger than any University. It will  require a government funding agency (likely, NIH or NSF) to take a stand vis a vi the public availability of research produced by public funding.