Abstract
This article recommends that the UK Higher Education Funding Councils adopt a policy requiring that they will in future only consider outputs that are available under a Creative Commons licence when assessing the quality of UK academic research. Such a policy would offer many benefits for universities, for researchers, and for society at large. Although incidentally such a policy would reduce costs for libraries, the primary reason for the recommendation is to benefit society at large. However, a key question remains: will the Funding Councils adopt a policy for the greater good of all society, but which will prove to be very controversial?