Guest Post: The American Chemical Society on the Shared Cybersecurity Concerns of Universities and Publishers
Jack Ochs from the American Chemical Society discusses the significant increase in cybersecurity threats to both publishers and libraries.
The Worst Week of Mary-Claire King's Life: An Amazing Tale from an Amazing Scientist
A remarkable story (with a remarkable punchline) from the great geneticist, Mary Claire-King.
Revisiting: 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? Revisiting a 2013 post to re-examine these questions.
PLOS' Bold Data Policy
PLOS has set a new policy, requiring authors to make all data behind their published results publicly available. This has been met with a great deal of controversy from the research community. Thoughts on why this policy and why now…
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?
Can You Copyright the Act of Curation? And What Constitutes Curation Anyway?
A music label sues a streaming service claiming copyright over playlists of certain tracks in a certain order. Is this level of curation really deserving of copyright protection?
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?
An Interview with Bob Weinschenk, CEO of SIPX
SIPX aims to simplify digital rights management for end users – faculty and students – while at the same time making life easier for the publishers and purchasers of the content
A History of Intellectual Property in the United States
Intellectual property in the United States — not an ideal topic for a podcast . . . or is it? This episode of BackStory with the American History Guys is compelling on many levels.
Copyright Transfer As a Click-through – It’s So Easy to Sign Away Your Rights
Click-through agreements are efficient for publishers and software companies to offer, but is it right for this efficiency to cloud the rights picture? Can’t we create systems that are slightly more subtle and customized?
A Cry from the Ivory Tower — An Attempt to Make the Case Against Patents
Two economists try to argue the case against patents. But their arguments are undercut by trite examples, a poor understanding of how patents look to inventors and investors, and a misreading of the evidence.
The Financial Burdens of the CC-BY License for Scholarly Literature
By allowing free commercial use of OA articles, current CC licenses may shift costs to researchers, presage an unsustainable information economy, and ultimately work against their stated goals. A commercially viable option might actually prove more sustainable.
Help! I've Been Plagiarized
The author recounts an experience in which one of his blog posts. He was saved when an Internet community rode to his rescue.
Review: "Free Ride: How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back"
A recent book tells the story of how technology companies — in the guise of advocates of “open” — have gutted content and culture businesses and the creative ranks that depend on them.