<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><div><div>In a blog post<br><a href="http://svpow.com/2013/12/17/elsevier-steps-up-its-war-on-access/">http://svpow.com/2013/12/17/elsevier-steps-up-its-war-on-access/</a> <br></div>Mike Taylor reports that<br>
<p><a href="http://www.ucalgary.com/">The University of Calgary</a> has just sent this notice to all staff:</p>
<blockquote><p>The University of Calgary has been contacted by a company
representing the publisher, Elsevier Reed, regarding certain Elsevier
journal articles posted on our publicly accessible university web pages.
We have been provided with examples of these articles and reviewed the
situation. Elsevier has put the University of Calgary on notice that
these publicly posted Elsevier journal articles are an infringement of
Elsevier Reed’s copyright and must be taken down.</p></blockquote>We are now in the position - which many of us foresaw many years ago - that if Green Open Access started to hurt publishers they would arbitrarily close it down or otherwise make it difficult. <br>
<br></div>Green OA is not a right, nor a contractual agreement and can be withdrawn at any time. The danger for the publisher is bad publicity but this seems to be a weak constraint.<br><br></div>Others may debate why Elsevier has done this - maybe the papers aren't on the right web pages, maybe the University has a mandate (which invalidates Green OA as far as Elsevier is concerned), maybe it's a foulup , maybe...<br>
<br></div>The simple truth is that this is the end of the road for many of us. We are not working with publishers, we are fighting them.<br><br></div>Open Access is about justice. <br><br></div>This is not.<br><div><div><div>
<div><div><div><div><div><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Peter Murray-Rust<br>Reader in Molecular Informatics<br>Unilever Centre, Dep. Of Chemistry<br>University of Cambridge<br>CB2 1EW, UK<br>+44-1223-763069
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