copyright and preprints

[Brian Simboli <brs4@lehigh.edu>]

Can anyone suggest a good article about current understandings of
copyright as it pertains to preprints (not postprints)? That is, when
authors post items to preprint repositories, is there an explicit or tacit
understanding that the author's work has certain accompanying rights, e.g.
concerning distribution, or the need for others to attribute the work?

Have there been any studies of preprint repositories to clarify current
practices? The prescriptive question here (e.g., whether everyone should
use Creative Commons licensing or whatever) needs to be distinguished from
the descriptive question (what do studies reveal about current practices).
Brian Simboli

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Brian Simboli
Science Librarian
Library & Technology Services
E.W. Fairchild Martindale
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA 18015-3170
E-mail: brs4@lehigh.edu