----- Original Message -----
From: Ian Ross <i.ross_at_cmcb.uq.edu.au>
To: <AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG>
Sent: Friday, November 19, 1999 5:16 AM
Subject: Re: Open Archiving: What are researchers willing to do?
<snip>
> The trouble is, as you point out, it's a very tenuous distinction. I
would
> love to know how they would view a paper which was archived (physically)
on
> a "private" server, but which was pointed to by a link on an abstract
> residing on a "public" server. The reader would of course, neither know
> nor care where the document in fact resided, as long as there was a
> hyperlinked trail from the public site. Does this mean that "privately"
> archived papers are illegal if they are referenced by a hyperlink from the
> existing "public" literature? And how would one know or enforce it?
<snip>
Copyright law differs from country to country. I mentioned yesterday the
Library of Congress site where one can read about US copyright law. As I
understand it, "publish" in copyright terms is to make available to the
public in any form. There is no difference whether a person or entity
infringes the copyright. Enforcement is through the courts. The
international nature of the Internet complicates enforcement, but keep in
mind that most countries subscribe to copyright treaties that have the force
of law.
There are individuals who are knowingly pirating copyright materials, such
as music, writing and software, on the 'Net, and publisher organizations are
aggressively seeking them out with search engines and going after them.
Underground groups may feel that they have nothing to lose anyway if they
are caught, but I doubt that applies to the individuals who would misuse the
scientific and other scholarly materials this discussion is concerned with.
I'm not an lawyer, but as I understand US law a person who assists or
encourages another to break a law can also be prosecuted.
Received on Wed Feb 10 1999 - 19:17:43 GMT