Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
It has become apparent that the established practices for reaching
agreement on ownership of scientific publications are difficult to
manage. Several players are involved - authors, libraries, institutions,
publishers and the public - each with their own interests, and these
interests have to be balanced so as to safeguard optimal access to
information. One way of achieving this is by establishing a copyright
arrangement in which the bundle of rights stemming from copyright
law is distributed in such a manner that each player gets the latitude
they need for the expression of their interests or activities.
The Zwolle Principles
This search for balance has led to the Zwolle Principles, a set of core
principles focused on the thoughtful understanding and application of
copyright law to the management of scholarly works, which can
stimulate the principal stakeholders in scholarly communication to
achieve maximum access to scholarship, to strengthen academic freedom
and to enhance the quality of academic work (SURF Foundation, 2006).
The Zwolle Principles resulted from the three Zwolle conferences,
dedicated to copyright management in higher education (the name
Zwolle derives from the place where the conferences were held, a
medieval town in the Netherlands). Reaching a copyright arrangement
between the principal stakeholders was the chief aim of these
conferences (Harvey, 2003; Crews and van Westrienen, 2007), the last
of which took place early in 2004. Its aim was to achieve beneficial
changes in copyright management issues by actually implementing the
Zwolle Principles, which had already been accepted.
Current copyright positions and the future implications for
scholars
The author's position
UK law
In the UK, legally, the author or creator is the first owner of copyright
in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work.
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However, if such a work
is made by an employee in the course of employment, the employer is
the first owner, unless a contractual arrangement stipulates differently.
According to this provision, a university is the copyright owner of
