OUP and CUP Under Attack
Oxford University Press and Cambridge University press have come under attack for, allegedly, taking unfair advantage of their charitable status.

CUP and OUP generate large tax-exempt profits, much of which come from ELT publishing. These profits can be reinvested in publications that compete with commercial publishers. The managing director of Pickering and Chatto is quoted in the Bookseller as saying "I just want a level playing field...they look very much like a commercial business and certainly the US office is more commercial than anything." An OUP spokesperson, again quoted in the Bookseller said: "OUP as a university press and a department of the University of Oxford, furthers the university's objective of excellence in research, scholarship and education by publishing worldwide. The university, of which OUP is a part, has charitable status in the UK."

May 08, 2008