<p style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;font:12.0px Helvetica;color:#144fae"><span style="text-decoration:underline"><a href="http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/forschung-und-lehre/urheberrecht-in-der-wissenschaft-fuer-fairness-und-ausgewogenheit-11847247.html">http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/forschung-und-lehre/urheberrecht-in-der-wissenschaft-fuer-fairness-und-ausgewogenheit-11847247.html</a></span></p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;font:12.0px Helvetica;color:#144fae"><br></p><p style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0px;font:12.0px Helvetica;color:#144fae"></p><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">Thanks to Eberhard Hilf for the alert about this. </div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">It's good news, though it would be more helpful if the President directed his proposal to institutions and funders, to mandate Green OA (ID/OA), rather than directing it at the "copyright system" or "copyright law" (which certainly does not care). ID/OA can already be mandated without any need to revise copyright law.</div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">It's also a mistake to stress embargoes and guarantees for publishers' current revenue streams. Never mind those. </div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">And never mind copyright law: Just mandate <a href="http://openaccess.eprints.org/index.php?/archives/136-guid.html">ID/OA</a> (immediate-deposit required, immediate Open Access to the deposit recommended, but embargoing access permitted, as long as all deposits are made, and immediate). </div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">ID/OA moots copyright law, "obeying" it by bypassing it.</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">
<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">The <a href="http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/18511/">email-eprint-request Button </a>will tide over researcher needs during any embargoes, and universal ID/OA will ensure the speedy death of all embargoes. </div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium"><br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">Waiting instead to reform copyright (or publishing) first will not...</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">
<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">Both publishing and copyright law will adapt after ID/OA is universally adopted, as a natural matter of course.</div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">
<br></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:medium">Stevan Harnad</div><p></p>