SIngle book authors (including academic authors) retain copyright as
standard.  It is usually argued (indeed I used to use this argument myself)
that compilations, such as edited books or journals, needed to have a single
copyright owner (i.e. the publisher) to make rights administration
manageable.  However, since many journals are now 'hybrid' and include OA
articles, I wonder if the administration side has evolved to keep pace?
 
Sally
 
Sally Morris
South House, The Street, Clapham, Worthing, West Sussex, UK  BN13 3UU
Tel:  +44 (0)1903 871286
Email:  sa...@morris-assocs.demon.co.uk
 

  _____  

From: goal-boun...@eprints.org [mailto:goal-boun...@eprints.org] On Behalf
Of Chris Zielinski
Sent: 29 September 2014 10:14
To: Global Open Access List (Successor of AmSci)
Subject: [GOAL] Re: Librarians, copyright and the IR


>From my perspective as a former head of the UK collecting society for
British authors. the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society, I think the
real weak link in the copyright chain is the academic author. If authors
claimed or retained their copyright more strongly and just gave publishers
publication licenses for specific uses, they could control, or at least
influence, the openness of publication. 

Some publishers insist they need a 100% copyright transfer (including their
right to re-publication by all and any future technologies in the known and
unknown universe, my slight exaggeration of the "Mickey Mouse" clause made
infamous by the Disney corporation). Academic authors should resist this
strongly.


Of course the library community may then wring its hands in despair that it
will become even harder to chase authors for rights...


Best,

Chris 

Chris Zielinski ch...@chriszielinski.com


On 28 September 2014 15:39, Heather Morrison <heather.morri...@uottawa.ca>
wrote:


Copyright and intellectual property are arguably among the most important
and most contentious social issues of our times. The internet can be used
for open sharing or for vigorous enforcement of an expanding range of IP
rights. What kind of society emerges in the future will depend a lot on the
outcome of some of the current debates. The open access movement is a key
driver of the push for open sharing.

Libraries and librarians are active proponents not only of open access but
also fair and balanced copyright, at an international level. Library
associations like the International Federation of Library Associations
(IFLA) and the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation
Associations (EBLIDA), are among the very few voices for the users of
copyrighted materials at international venues such as the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) and the EU. Library associations work with
like-minded groups to uncover the intellectual property discussions that
have moved from relatively open, democratic venues such as WIPO to secretive
trade treaties (the now-defunct ACTA, TAFTA, the TPP). Library associations
are among the most vocal and effective advocates for balance in copyright
laws at the national level.

At the institutional level, my perspective is that there is a growing role
for librarians with respect to copyright. This is in part due to the
increasing role of librarians in scholarly communication. Another factor is
the shift from print-based materials and copyright to the electronic
environment where the mix of contract, licensing and rapidly evolving
copyright law make for a much more complex and not at all settled
environment. Here, librarians play a central role in the licensing of
electronic resources which overlaps with copyright. The push by ARL
libraries and others to eliminate non-disclosure clauses and the fight for
public libraries' right to lend e-books are examples of library leadership
in these areas. The institutional roles of libraries can include such
matters as educating and advising the community and formulating
institutional policy.

Again from my perspective, there is an increasing tendency for librarians to
take on a leadership role with respect to copyright at academic
institutions, precisely because of the overlap with related functions
(licensing and scholarly communication), and this is a good thing.
Information studies programs are expanding their education in this area. For
example, I am currently teaching a course in the MIS program at ÉSIS on
information and the law, and copyright is a major focus.

It is in the context of this understanding of these leadership roles of the
profession in the areas of copyright and licensing that I argue that in the
case of the institutional repository, where authors are depositing their own
work, the library should avoid taking on the role of copyright guarantor.
This should remain in the hands of the depositor / author, unless the author
specifically requests that the library undertakes this service. If we wish
scholarly authors to assert their own rights to their work, then when they
come to the library to deposit their work in the IR, it is reasonable to
presume that the author has this right, and that if they do not have such a
right, then they should be aware of their actions in transferring copyright,
or at the very least that they are adults and have the right to take
responsibility for their own actions. It strikes me that some good legal
language to make it clear who is taking responsibility (the individual, not
the library except if the library is asked to do this) would be helpful.

Libraries have relationships with publishers which overlaps this scenario.
My suggestion is that libraries should only undertake to bring copyright
into such relationships when it clearly increases the rights of authors to
disseminate their work. With a good faculty permissions policy (like MIT's),
the library is in a position to negotiate blanket dissemination of a
publisher's works in the IR along with their license. Many libraries are now
negotiating for rights for their own authors in their contracts for
subscriptions. For the faculty member, this is a pure positive (more
dissemination, less work for them), where being denied a right to post one's
own work is a negative.

best,

--
Dr. Heather Morrison
Assistant Professor
École des sciences de l'information / School of Information Studies
Master of Information Studies (M.I.S.) program accredited by the American
Library Association
Maîtrise en sciences de l’information (M.S.I.) accréditée par l’American
Library Association
University of Ottawa
http://www.sis.uottawa.ca/faculty/hmorrison.html
heather.morri...@uottawa.ca



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