George H. Pike, Database Protection Legislation Introduced in Congress, Information Today, October 20, 2003. An overview of the bill and the controversy surrounding it. Excerpt: "Critics of the bill continue to argue that contract, trespass, misappropriation, and unfair competition law all provide adequate database protection, as does the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. More to the point, they contend that providing factual information with proprietary protection would violate constitutional copyright, commerce, and free speech provisions. Finally, they argue that continuing uncertainty in the language of the legislation, including the absence of a fair use clause, will chill research, restrict further database development, and impede competition in the database marketplace."
Posted by
Peter Suber at 10/22/2003 11:07:00 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.
