SURF Release: Copyright and Universities

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

P R E S S   R E L E A S E			

Utrecht, 20 November 2002

The (copy)right degree of sharing

Copyright and universities; after years of discussion still a hot item. 
How can faculty achieve maximum access to scholarly  information? How can 
universities raise awareness and educate their academics? How to process 
'rights management' between the main stakeholders: authors, publishers and 
universities? To answer these questions, the Dutch SURF Foundation is 
launching a new website 'Copyright Management for Scholarship' 
(www.surf.nl/copyright). 

Copyright Management for scholarship is concerned with with copyright in 
higher education, university policy on copyright, and arrangements between 
universities, authors and publishers. The 'three-party' perspective makes 
this website unique of its kind!

Furthermore, to achieve maximum access to scholarship, strengthen academic 
freedom and enhance the quality of academic work, SURF is organising a 
working conference on 'Copyright and Universities' in December 2002 in 
Zwolle, the Netherlands. International experts are invited to discuss a 
set of principles and issues for institutional copyright policies and 
agreements with publishers.

Both the set of core principles and the draft documents form an important 
part of the newly launched website. Also, the site has links to copyright 
policies, publishing agreements and good practices subdivided by country. 

The changed environment in scientific "business" forced universities to 
rethink their attitude towards their policies on intellectual property 
rights in general and copyright in particular. Universities realised that 
only with the co-operation of the other stakeholders could optimal access 
to scholarly information be achieved. Therefore the Dutch SURF Foundation 
formed an international Steering Committee with representatives of the 
different stakeholders to prepare the upcoming December 2002 conference.
During this conference SURF and the Steering Committee would like to 
secure support for the principles from as many participants as possible. 
They hope that many participants will sign the "Zwolle Principles" either 
in their individual capacities or as representatives of their companies 
and organisations and that the result will be appropriate management of 
copyright-protected works created at universities throughout the world.

SURF

SURF is the information and communications technology (ICT) collaboration 
organisation for higher education and research in the Netherlands. The 
universities and hogescholen (universities of professional education) 
collaborate in SURF regarding ICT developments in the areas of ICT and 
Research, Education and Organisation, and regarding the network 
infrastructure of SURFnet and the software licences of SURFdiensten.

For further information please contact:

SURF Foundation
Mrs C.G.E. van Hattem, Communications Manager
Leidseveer 35						
Postbus 2290					
3500 GG  Utrecht	
The Netherlands				
T +31 (0)30 234 66 00	
F +31 (0)30 233 29 60
W www.surf.nl
E vanhattem@surf.nl