Open Access Mandates and Open Access "Mandates"
When does it make sense to call an Open Access policy a “mandate” — and when does it constitute unhelpful exaggeration?
Looking for Pirates in the Sea of Content
With the ease of posting and searching online for final published PDFs of journal articles and ebooks, publishers have turned to digital solutions for finding unauthorized copies of copyrighted materials. Recently, some authors have taken exception to these policies leaving publishers to defend these practices and explain author rights when it comes to sharing accepted manuscripts.
Crowdsourcing Copyright Law in Europe
The European Union sets up a public consultation on copyright policies.
From USGS Library to ProQuest: an Interview with Richard Huffine on the US Public Access Program
Richard Huffine, former Director of Libraries for the US Geological Survey (USGS) and current Senior Director, U.S. Federal Government Market, at ProQuest speaks about public access policies.
Whose Dissertation Is It, Anyway?
Another association of historians has recommended that students be allowed to impose limited embargoes on their dissertations. And so the question arises again: whose work is the dissertation, and who should control it?
The End of an Era for Academia.edu and Other Academic Networks?
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that Elsevier has issued a sweeping series of Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) take down notices regarding Elsevier-published content to Academia.edu, a file-sharing network for researchers and other academics.
This has prompted a storm in the Twittersphere, a response from Elsevier, a number of commentaries on blogs and list-serves, and a truly bizarre article from CNET. Academia.edu for its part is reportedly encouraging authors of affected papers to sign this Elsevier boycott petition despite the fact that their own terms of use prohibit the posting of content that infringes on the copyright or license of publishers such as Elsevier.
Is this a footnote or the end of a chapter in the annals of digital science publishing?
An Anonymous Challenge to the Copyright Clearance Center
A somewhat strange anonymous letter raises questions, both intentional and unintentional, about the Copyright Clearance Center.
Copyright in a Digital Era: The Rise and Rise of CCC
What is the role of the Copyright Clearance Center in a digital age?
Google Books Lawsuit Dismissed: "All Society Benefits," Says Judge Chin
In a decision that may have deep and wide-ranging implications for the publishing industry and for future applications of the fair use doctrine, Judge Denny Chin has dismissed the Authors Guild’s eight-year-old lawsuit against Google over its Google Books project.
Open Access on the Sea of Confusion
How many different definitions of “open access” are there? A look at how conceptual confusions conflict with making effective policy.
UPDATED — 73 Things Publishers Do (2013 Edition)
An updated version of the “60 Things Publishers Do” list, recognizing a baker’s dozen of contributions provided via comments, other Chefs, and a changing world.
Seeking a Path toward Open Access for Books
It is challenging to come up with an open access program for books that is financially sustainable. One strategy has been proposed by Unglue.it, which uses crowdfunding to purchases copyrights from authors.
The Conversations We're Not Having — Overcoming Uncertainty, Chilling Effects, and Open Access Complacency
While open access remains a hot topic in our industry, we may not be discussing the most difficult aspects. Worse, OA proponents themselves may not be answering some of the questions that are now arising as a broader swath of academics, scientists, and administrators become aware of OA.
Some University of California Open Access Policy Confusions
A brief analysis of the University of California’s recently announced Open Access policy for faculty.
Is Access to the Research Paper the Same Thing as Access to the Research "Results"?
Is access to the research paper really the same thing as access to the research results themselves? Are funding agencies creating a false equivalency by confusing the two? And does this confusion favor researchers in some fields over others?