Re[2]: Texaco Memo

> I have a a query about the legality of us copying our own articles
> and distributing them to colleague who send a reprint request,
> students in short courses for which they pay a fee and students in
> regular classes paying tuition.
>
> Many faculty make their own copies rather than purchasing reprints
> which seem to be very expensive. What is the legality of this,
> especially after Texaco or before if it matters.

As noted elsewhere, it depends on what rights the author assigned when submitting the article for publication

While many publishers require a complete grant of rights in their copyright transfer form, there are a number who include language in their transfer agreement which explicitly reserves for the author or grants the author limited rights to make copies for "classroom use" or the "use of the employer" etc.

Many STM publishers follow a policy of not charging authors for the use of their own figures and/or tables in their other publications. However, due to concerns about context and implied endorsement (as well as the glut of material being published), they tend to be much more stringent when reviewing requests to reprint the entire article in contexts other than the classroom or lecture hall (e.g., as part of a handout touting a particular product).

Ed Barnas
Director, Journals, Raven Press, New York ebarnas[_at_]ravenpress.com Received on Fri Dec 02 1994 - 18:24:21 GMT