Promoting and Disseminating Knowledge

["Hamaker, Chuck" <cahamake@email.uncc.edu>]

There is a very interesting discussion with a slightly different
focus-buit that contains specific examples of the behaviors of various
database producers, (including European companies) and their many attempts
to control use in a report produced for the National Research Council's
"Symposium on the Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in
the Public Domain."

it includes discussions of attempts to treat information in databases as
proprietary information, among a lot of other areas of explanation.

It's long, about 97 pages. But well worth reading in the context of this
discussion.

http://www7.nationalacademies.org/biso/PD_Maurer_pdf.pdf

Promoting and Disseminating Knowledge:
The Public/Private Interface
Stephen M. Maurer
A Paper Prepared for the U.S. National Research Council's Symposium on the
Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain
Washington, D.C.
September 5-6, 2002

Although I disagree strongly with some of the author's conclusions, and
thing he has other things exactly, right, the "case studies," some 57 of
them, are apropos of the discussions so far and provide both public data
and proprietary data examples, with ways companies have tried to control
subsequent use of data..some European databases and their particular
approaches are included.

At least one of the conclusions of the report may be considered a bit
stunning..the author states.

"Reasonable" Access Rates. It seems inconsistent to pay for journals but
insist that data be free. The problem is deciding what price is
reasonable. "

Well worth wading through. it sheds a bit more light on the issues being
discussed re database "protection".  Chuck Hamaker