[LINK] more about open info access ...

[Roger Clarke]

>2009/3/30 Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com>:
>>  ... the faculty of MIT have unanimously voted to
>>  make any publications they produce open access."
>>  http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/26/1530226&from=rss

At 11:32 +0930 31/3/09, Anthony Hornby wrote:
>  ... ROARMAP keeps stats on mandates
>http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/policysignup/ ...

Seems like a good opportunity for me to:

1.  spruik the Unlocking IP conference at UNSW on 16-17 April:
     http://www.cyberlawcentre.org/unlocking-ip/2009/

2.  ask for constructively negative feedback on this paper:

     Open Access to Journal Content as a Case Study in Unlocking IP
                   Roger Clarke and Danny A. Kingsley
              http://www.rogerclarke.com/II/OAJC-0904.html

The Internet has brought with it both means to disseminate and access 
content, and an enhanced expectation that content will generally be 
readily accessible. This has threatened entrenched for-profit 
activities, which have long prospered on closed, proprietary 
approaches to publishing, facilitated by anti-consumer provisions in 
copyright laws. The ePrints and Open Access (OA) movements have been 
complemented by the emergence of electronic repositories in which 
authors can deposit copies of their works.

The accessibility of refereed papers published in journals represents 
a litmus test of the extent to which openness is being achieved in 
the face of the power of corporations whose business model is 
dependent on the exploitation of intellectual property (IP). A 
specification of the requirements for 'Unlocking IP' in refereed 
papers is presented and applied, leading to the conclusion that a 
great deal of progress appears to have been made. The copyright 
arrangements applied by most publishers enable authors to 
self-deposit PrePrints of their papers on their own web-sites and in 
open repositories; and in many cases authors can also self-deposit 
the PostPrint, i.e. the author's copy of the final version.

The theoretical success of the OA, ePrints and repositories movements 
has not, or at least not yet, resulted in success in practice. This 
is because only a small proportion of papers are actually 
self-deposited, and a large proportion of refereed papers continue to 
be accessible only through highly-expensive subscriptions to journals 
and journal-collections controlled by for-profit publishers. The 
Unlocking of IP in refereed papers is therefore still very much a 
work-in-progress. Moreover, the gains may be ceded back to the 
for-profit publishing industry, unless concerted efforts are made 
within academe.


-- 
Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
                    Tel: +61 2 6288 1472, and 6288 6916
mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au                http://www.xamax.com.au/

Visiting Professor in Info Science & Eng  Australian National University
Visiting Professor in the eCommerce Program      University of Hong Kong
Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre      Uni of NSW