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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_19.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_19.html deleted file mode 100644 index 38f0314..0000000 --- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_19.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,140 +0,0 @@ -<!-- This is the second edition of Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. - -Free Software Foundation - -51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor - -Boston, MA 02110-1335 -Copyright C 2002, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. -Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire book are permitted -worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is -preserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations -of this book from the original English into another language provided -the translation has been approved by the Free Software Foundation and -the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all -copies. - -ISBN 978-0-9831592-0-9 -Cover design by Rob Myers. - -Cover photograph by Peter Hinely. - --> - - - <a name="Science-Must-Push-Copyright-Aside"> - </a> - <h1 class="chapter"> - 19. Science Must Push Copyright Aside - </h1> - <a name="index-libraries_002c-access-fees-and"> - </a> - <p> - It should be a truism that the scientific literature exists to -disseminate scientific knowledge, and that scientific journals exist -to facilitate the process. It therefore follows that rules for use of -the scientific literature should be designed to help achieve that -goal. - </p> - <p> - The rules we have now, known as copyright, were established in the -age of the printing press, an inherently centralized method of -mass-production copying. In a print environment, copyright on journal -articles restricted only journal publishers—requiring them to -obtain permission to publish an article—and would-be -plagiarists. It helped journals to operate and disseminate knowledge, -without interfering with the useful work of scientists or students, -either as writers or readers of articles. These rules fit that system -well. - </p> - <p> - The modern technology for scientific publishing, however, is the -World Wide Web. What rules would best ensure the maximum -dissemination of scientific articles, and knowledge, on the web? -Articles should be distributed in nonproprietary formats, with open -access for all. And everyone should have the right to -“mirror” articles—that is, to republish them verbatim -with proper attribution. - </p> - <p> - These rules should apply to past as well as future articles, when -they are distributed in electronic form. But there is no crucial need -to change the present copyright system as it applies to paper -publication of journals because the problem is not in that domain. - </p> - <p> - Unfortunately, it seems that not everyone agrees with the truisms -that began this article. Many journal publishers appear to believe -that the purpose of scientific literature is to enable them to publish -journals so as to collect subscriptions from scientists and -students. Such thinking is known as “confusion of the means with -the ends.” - </p> - <p> - Their approach has been to restrict access even to read the -scientific literature to those who can and will pay for it. They use -copyright law, which is still in force despite its inappropriateness -for computer networks, as an excuse to stop scientists from choosing -new rules. - </p> - <p> - For the sake of scientific cooperation and humanity’s future, we -must reject that approach at its root—not merely the -obstructive systems that have been instituted, but the mistaken -priorities that inspired them. - </p> - <p> - Journal publishers sometimes claim that online access requires -expensive high-powered server machines, and that they must charge -access fees to pay for these servers. This “problem” is a -consequence of its own “solution.” Give everyone the -freedom to mirror, and libraries around the world will set up mirror -sites to meet the demand. This decentralized solution will reduce -network bandwidth needs and provide faster access, all the while -protecting the scholarly record against accidental loss. - </p> - <p> - Publishers also argue that paying the editors requires charging for -access. Let us accept the assumption that editors must be paid; this -tail need not wag the dog. The cost of editing for a typical paper is -between 1 percent and 3 percent of the cost of funding the research to produce -it. Such a small percentage of the cost can hardly justify obstructing -the use of the results. - </p> - <a name="index-universities-3"> - </a> - <p> - Instead, the cost of editing could be recovered, for example, -through page charges to the authors, who can pass these on to the -research sponsors. The sponsors should not mind, given that they -currently pay for publication in a more cumbersome way, through -overhead fees for the university library’s subscription to the -journal. By changing the economic model to charge editing costs to the -research sponsors, we can eliminate the apparent need to restrict -access. The occasional author who is not affiliated with an -institution or company, and who has no research sponsor, could be -exempted from page charges, with costs levied on institution-based -authors. - </p> - <p> - Another justification for access fees to online publications is to -fund conversion of the print archives of a journal into online -form. That work needs to be done, but we should seek alternative ways -of funding it that do not involve obstructing access to the -result. The work itself will not be any more difficult, or cost any -more. It is self-defeating to digitize the archives and waste the -results by restricting access. - </p> - <a name="index-call-to-action_002c-defend-progress-of-science-from-copyright"> - </a> - <p> - The - <a name="index-Constitution_002c-copyright-and-US-2"> - </a> - US Constitution says that copyright exists “to promote -the Progress of Science.” When copyright impedes the progress of -science, science must push copyright out of the way. - <a name="index-libraries_002c-access-fees-and-1"> - </a> - </p> - <hr size="2"/> - |