The letter is addressed mainly to the JURI Committee but also to members of the European Parliament and national governments. This is a wide stakeholder response to the recent opinions expressed by several European Parliament Committees on the Commission’s Proposal, in particular the opinion issued by the ITRE Committee in July. As explained in the joint letter EUA is concerned that “the proposals on the Copyright Directive will limit academic freedom by creating burdensome and harmful restrictions on access to scientific research and data, as well as on the fundamental rights of freedom of information, directly contradicting the EU’s own ambitions in the field of Open Access and Open Science.” More...

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Australian Copyright Scandal Points to the Need for Greater Oversight of Copyright Collectives
Michael Geist, 2017/04/28
As Michael Geist reports, "The Australian copyright community has been shocked by a scandal involving the Copyright Agency, a copyright collective that diverted millions of dollars intended for authors toward a lobbying and advocacy fund designed to fight against potential fair use reforms." More...

Authorship provides credit for an individual’s contributions to a study and carries accountability. There are no universally accepted standards for assigning authorship. Principles, customs and practices differ significantly from one discipline to another.
Responsibility for decisions regarding the authorship of publications lies with those who carried out the work reported in the publication. Researchers should be aware of the authorship practices within their own disciplines and should always abide by any requirements stipulated by journals as part of their instructions to authors.
The University of Cambridge’s School of Clinical Medicine have published their own Code of Practice on Authorship, which members of that School should consult in addition to these guidelines. More...