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Re: Open Access and For-Pay Access (to the same IR materials)

so far as I can see there are two debates here:
1 - moral/ethical issues
2 - licensing issues

1 - on the moral/ethical issue, there is the argument that if the vendor
is adding value to the content, they have a right to be reimbursed for
this.  It could be argued that they sought "promotion" as their reward for
supplying the IR software (?I assume it was free?), but also sought
financial reward by using the content of the IR to develop a financial
product - then the question for your is whether you morally consider this
to be an acceptable "quid pro quo" for having their software ("there is no
such thing as a free lunch" springs to mind)

2 - however I suspect they are unable to simply make "your" content
available elsewhere without checking on the licensing agreements - what
type of license do you publish your content under ? and have all your
authors signed up to this? (at INASP our website content is published with
a creative commons license that allows copying and reuse but does not
allow the work to be used for commercial purposes)

another challenge for digital content!

pippa Smart

At 17:18 20/04/2005, you wrote:

At a meeting last week of consortial directors and representatives, an
interesting topic was raised.  One consortium had developed a specialized
(in subject) institutional repository using a particular vendor's IR
software.  The content in this consortium's IR is available to the world
for free and that will not change; the consortium and authors arecommitted
to this.  At the same time, the vendor is marketing the software in a way
that content developed and made available through the IR software by all
of the vendor's IR customers can be cross searched with some nice
enhancements - for a fee.  This set off quite a conversation.

o One side reasoned that owners of the IRs should/could refuse to have
their content participate, even passively, in such a commercial setting,
as antithetical to their desires when they set up the IR.

o Others reasoned that owners of the IRs should/could cooperate with the
IR software vendor to assure that the content can be included (author
permissions, etc.) so that authors can also get the benefit of better,
more focused search and services.

Any thoughts about this kind of situation?  There is a lot of potential
for a lot of re-use, re-purposing, upgrading of works that are freely
available.  It's a new world we're entering. Ann Okerson/Yale Library

*****
Ms Pippa Smart
Head of Publications, Publishing Initiatives and Publishing Training
INASP (International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications)
58 St Aldates
Oxford OX1 1ST, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1865 249 909
Fax: +44 (0)1865 251 060
Email: psmart@inasp.info
Web: www.inasp.info
INASP: Registered Charity No. 1106349
*****