Event recap - C4OS in the US: From Fair Use to Statutory Licensing
Jan 26, 2023
The second part of the Copyright for Open Science (C4OS) series took place virtually on January 19th. In this workshop, we moved across the pond and explored the US landscape aiming at mapping and outlining the current US context in terms of Open Access/ Open Science and the publishing industry. Furthermore, we sought out to investigate how Open Science is served by the current Fair Use system and how a Statutory Licensing system could be deployed in order to further and advance Open Access publishing models.
John Willinsky, Khosla Family Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, and Professor (Limited Term), Simon Fraser University, our invited moderator for the workshop, introduced the session by highlighting the fact that now that we have finally reached a consensus among scholarly communication stakeholders, including researchers, publishers, librarians, societies, and funders, that open access is a critical part of a new era of open science, it is high time for a more coordinated effort among these parties.
The discussion revolved around two statements including addressing the future of Text and Data Mining (TDM) and evaluating the current situation as well as perhaps reconsidering the role of copyright in Open Science or potentially investigating other forms of governmental and regulatory actions. A distinguished panel of US-based legal scholars, lawyers, law librarians and academic publishers were asked to react to those statements. Below you can find the key takeaways of the discussion provided by each of the speakers:
Jonathan Band, Attorney, policybandwidth, pointed out that while the courts have been interpreting copyright law in an efficient way there is an absence of the contract override system that has been developed in Europe thus creating uncertainty over licensing. He also highlighted the fact that Open Access has not progressed as fast and as successfully as initially predicted, and there is a need to address why that is and how we can proceed going forward.
Kyle K. Courtney, Copyright Advisor, Harvard University, highlighted that the main challenge to all cultural and knowledge institutions including libraries, archives and their patrons lies in licensing. The licensing culture is currently spiraling out of control and is beginning to encroach into the fabric of fundamental fair usage which is in service of greater Open Science and thus creating a major barrier towards achieving it.
Curtis Brundy, Associate University Librarian, Iowa State University, shared his thoughts on the ability to participate as well as benefit from Open Science, mentioning that the opportunities are severely restricted especially when it comes to libraries. He stressed that libraries remain in a weakened position when it comes to negotiating rights and terms, including TDM rights, with publishers.
David Fewer, Counsel and Director, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic, University of Ottawa, provided the Canadian perspective to the discussion, pointing out Canada’s unique perspective on copyright where there is a concentrated effort to balance out user rights with owner/author rights. The primary tool in doing so, and for protecting research especially in the TDM context, is fair dealing/fair use.
Finally, Richard Gallagher, President & Editor-in-Chief, Annual Reviews, Publisher, Knowable Magazine, represented non-profit publishing, mentioning that Open Access lies at the heart of the institutional mission of Annual Reviews. He stressed that Open Access publishing is necessary for the rights to access research and focused on the fact that this should go beyond research communities and delivered to everyone including policy makers, business leaders, practitioners, educators, parents and society as a whole.
Closing off with John Willinsky, stressed that the progress of science is in everybody’s interest and while Open Access and return of investment is one perspective, we should not lose sight of the bigger picture.
The final part of our series will focus on the Open Access for C4OS and a more global perspective. Don’t miss out on our hybrid event which will take place online and in-person at the Onassis Foundation in Athens, Greece on February 9th 2023. Save your spot here.
