Access to unique research resources, such as biological materials and reagents, is vital to the success and advancement of science. Many research protocols require assembling a large and diverse set of materials from many sources. Yet, often the process of finding and negotiating the transfer of such materials can be difficult and time-consuming. The ability to locate materials based on their descriptions in journal articles is often limited by lack of sufficient information about origin and availability, and there is no standard citation for such materials. In addition, the process of legal negotiation that may follow can be lengthy and unpredictable. This can have important implications for science policy, especially when delays or inability to obtain research materials result in lost time, productivity, and research opportunities. These transactional barriers for material transfer may ultimately have more impact on the productivity of basic laboratory science than concerns related to patents or other intellectual property....
Science Commons’s Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) Project seeks to reduce unnecessary barriers to the transfer and reuse of basic research materials and reagents, for both United States and international scientific collaboration, by proposing a scalable and flexible infrastructure for searching, negotiation, and tracking....
Reducing the time it takes for scientists to obtain basic research materials is vital for accelerating scientific discovery. Standardization of policy, contracts, and technology is necessary in order to deliver the relatively frictionless transaction systems that have revolutionized Web commerce. The system that we propose, which includes greater use of standard contracts, a Web-based rights description framework, and other educational tools, is the first step in that direction. The possible benefits will accrue not only to immediate stakeholders, in the form of cost savings and increased productivity, but ultimately to society as a whole from greater innovation and scientific progress.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/22/2007 09:33:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
