Earlier this year I had the privilege of joining the Steering Group for SNSI (the Scholarly Networks Security Initiative). Chairing the SG was an easy decision for me, as I’ve long admired the approach that the group has made to this important question of infrastructure, cybsersecurity and (anti)piracy work, all in the context of stakeholder engagement. That approach involves multiple layers and approaches— from the purely legalistic (mostly focused on site-blocking) to communications, education and awareness-training. Importantly this has also involved technology and library/information resource professionals. All of these threads need to work together to be effective, as I believe the group has been!

Copyright is meaningless in the absence of a means to exercise those rights that is also reasonably useful to users. By enabling efficient licensing and guaranteeing remuneration for creative works, CMOs ensure that licenses meet both rightsholders’ and users’ needs and expectations.

Twenty-five (close to 26) years ago, the publisher plaintiffs in the Texaco case (https://openjurist.org/60/f3d/913) settled with Texaco over unauthorized copying of science journal articles for commercial purposes. The case was led by the American Geophysical Union, the earth and space science society and publisher of a number of leading journals, supported by an extensive list of other scholarly publishers and the CCC (Copyright Clearance Center, where I am a Board member). The decision and settlement were important events in establishing that businesses cannot assume a “fair use” defense, even if they are engaged in some form of research, and led to the establishment and success of the CCC in offering licensing options for corporations (CCC has other licensing and service options as well).