Category: Legal
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Elsevier acquires Knovel
1. What is the scope of the deal?Elsevier has purchased Knovel in its entirety. 2. Were there multiple bidders?Yes, there were several.3. Why did Knovel investors decide to sell to Elsevier?Knovel was not looking to sell and was aggressively investing in its business. We were approached by several potential acquirers because of the market’s growth…
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Some thoughts on the Access Copyright – AUCC Model Licence
I honestly don't have anything new to add to this situation, but I wanted to throw together a few links for you to follow (legally even!) if you want to try and figure out what's going through the heads of the administrators at Canadian Universities that are planning to sign on with the Access Copyright…
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Thanks for nothing, big guys (UofT and UWO cave to Access Copyright)
This made a big splash up here in Canada last week, but then seemed to quickly quiet down, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong spots. Read many of the details on the Excess Copyright blog, but as Howard Knopf points out, "In an astonishing development that has caught all…
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OverDrive Posts Public Comment Apparently in Response to Librarian in Black Post
A quick followup to my post earlier this month noting Sarah Houghton-Jan's (LiB) rant about Overdrive's different catalogues. TeleRead point out that OverDrive has in fact clarified their position, but without making any mention of Sarah's post, which is likely the cause of theirs. It'd be great to hear a debate between these two parties…
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Sarah calls out OverDrive
If you currently subscribe or are considering subscribing to OverDrive's ebook service, you owe it to yourself to go read Sarah's (LiB) post about how OverDrive is offering different catalogues to libraries based on how those libraries define their service areas. Apparently it is in OverDrive's TOS, but it's not very clear, and OverDrive hasn't…
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A quick introduction to the concept of open access in universities
Thanks to my colleague Tim for tweeting about this short video, produced a year ago by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries and McGill University Library. I wish it somehow did better job explaining how the money aspect of the equation keeps research out of the hands of some, as most of us here in…
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Mark Leggott vs The World
The title is an homage to the soon-to-be-released movie based on the Canadian Scott Pilgrim comic book series, which you should read. So Mark Leggott, University Librarian at the University of Prince Edward Island, is making some waves in the mainstream press. In the Toronto Star: Canadian librarian leads worldwide digital revolt for free knowledge.…
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Canadian DMCA (Bill C-32) is an improvement
If it makes Access Copyright unhappy, and the Canadian Library Association happy(ish), Canada's newly-proposed Copyright Modernization Act must be doing something right. It's still got a major flaw in that it's always illegal to crack a digital lock, which effectively removes many of the rights the Bill introduces. As always, Michael Geist has all the…