Apr

29

Research…Or Plagiarism?

Posted by Christopher Waldrop

April 29, 2008 |

The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that three publishers, SAGE Publications, Oxford University Press, and Cambridge University Press are bringing a lawsuit against Georgia State University because of “systematic, widespread, and unauthorized copying and distribution of a vast amount of copyrighted works.”

My gut instinct is to side with the University since this is a case of professors distributing material to their students as part of classes. It would be no different than professors photocopying material and handing it out in course packs—which often happens. The difference is that the distribution is taking place electronically, which makes it easier for the publishers to monitor it. And yet I also feel I don’t have enough information to make a fully informed judgment. This is one lawsuit brought against one university. Is this a single instance of professors distributing so much material that it exceeds fair use? Or is this being used by the publishing industry as a test case for future litigation? In fact I think it may be more complicated, and the publishers’ complaint indicates that, while they don’t mind universities distributing digital materials for educational purposes, there are limits, and they feel the University of Georgia overstepped those limits.

And, in defense of publishers, I think they sometimes get bashed unfairly for charging for publication and distribution of scholarly work. Often it’s the amounts they charge are an easy target. Consider a SAGE Publication, Arts & Humanities In Higher Education. An individual who wants to subscribe pays $76.00 per year. An institution—such as a university library—that subscribes to the same publication pays $481.00 per year for just the print edition. The price goes up to $491.00 if they want to add online access. And yet the library represents a collective; it will be making the material available to an unknown number of individuals, some who will want, at most, a single article, and some who will need multiple articles from multiple issues. While libraries are struggling to keep all the subscriptions their patrons need and want, it still makes sense that they pay more than individual subscribers. And many publishers offer package deals that take into account the number of students and faculty at a particular institution. Then there’s the fact that most universities aren’t prepared—and don’t particularly want—to take over scholarly publishing. There’s a reason why, at accredited institutions, tenure is often based on publication in a number of core, peer-reviewed journals, a model that applies across the range from the humanities to the sciences.

Some would like to make this a simple story of greedy, self-serving people on one side or the other, but the truth may be more complicated than that. Learning institutions and publishers have a symbiotic relationship. They need to work together to keep it that way.


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