Scientific publishing is a rip-off. We fund the research – it should be free | George Monbiot

Those who take on the global industry that traps research behind paywalls are heroes, not thievesNever underestimate the power of one determined person. What Carole Cadwalladr has done to Facebook and big data, and Edward Snowden has done to the state security complex, Alexandra Elbakyan has done to the multibillion-dollar industry that traps knowledge behind paywalls. Sci-Hub, her pirate web scraper service, has done more than any government to tackle one of the biggest rip-offs of the modern era: the capture of publicly funded research that should belong to us all. Everyone should be free to learn; knowledge should be disseminated as widely as possible. No one would publicly disagree with these sentiments. Yet governments and universities have allowed the big academic publishers to deny these rights. Academic publishing might sound like an obscure and fusty affair, but it uses one of the most ruthless and profitable business models of any industry.The model was pioneered by the notorious conman Robert Maxwell. He realised that, because scientists need to be informed about all significant developments in their field, every journal that publishes academic papers can establish a monopoly and charge outrageous fees for the transmission of knowledge. He called his discovery “a perpetual financing machine”. He also realised that he could capture other people’s labour and resources for nothing. Governments funded the research published by his company, Pergamon, while... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #alexandra elbakyan #modern era #academic publishing #significant developments #technical term

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Scientific publishing is a rip-off. We fund the research – it should be free | George Monbiot'


Longtime Publishing Professional L.D. Clepper Dies at 85

In his long career in book sales and marketing, Clepper worked at Macmillan, Harper & Row, Houghton Mifflin, and Oxford University Press. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long career #book sales #harper row #houghton mifflin #publishing professional


Meet the Creative Team at Usborne Publishing

PW spoke to the editors and authors at Usborne about the process of bringing each new children’s book into the world, what makes the books unique, and the inherent joys of the work they do. (Sponsored) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #usborne publishing #creative team #pw spoke #children’s book


Publisher Salon Grows Revenue After Cutting Resellers

Showing that publishers are better off controlling their own programmatic destiny, news publisher Salon has grown revenue after cutting off access to its inventory for the vast majority of resellers earlier this year. That increase comes that's from being able to charge more for its inventory... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2023-08-16 11:53:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vast majority #news publisher


Judge Approves Final Injunction in Publishers, Internet Archive Copyright Case

After more than three years of litigation, it took judge John G. Koeltl just hours to sign off on the parties’ negotiated consent judgment—but not without a final twist. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #judge john


Publishers, Internet Archive Submit Proposed Judgment in Copyright Case

More than four months after a federal judge found the Internet Archive liable for copyright infringement, the parties have delivered a negotiated agreement for a judgment to be entered in the case. A final resolution could still be years away, however, as the Internet Archive has vowed to appeal. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #copyright case #copyright infringement #internet archive


The Publishing Industry Has a New Nightmare

Consolidation was supposed to be books’ biggest threat. Is private equity worse? Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2023-08-11 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #biggest threat #publishing industry


Samsung pre-orders on Amazon include free gift cards and storage upgrades

Samsung's latest slate of Galaxy devices arrives on August 11, but there's still time to lock in a pre-order to get free perks like a storage upgrade and gift card. The company's new flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, is included in the offer. If you pre-order one, you can get double the... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-08-09 14:52:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #battery life #single charge #pen inside #buying advice #follow @engadgetdeals #book cover


Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘deeply personal and revealing’ autobiography to be published in 2025

Pan Macmillan will publish the former first minister’s as-yet-untitled memoirNicola Sturgeon’s “deeply personal and revealing” memoir will be published in 2025 by Pan Macmillan, after nine publishers bid for it at auction.After her resignation as Scotland’s first minister in February, Sturgeon... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-09 10:49:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #revealing memoir #nicola sturgeon #deeply personal #memoir #pan macmillan


Author says the Apple TV+ 'Tetris' movie ripped off his book

The Apple TV+ film Tetris was copied from a book written years ago, according to a lawsuit filed against the tech giant and the Tetris Company. Dan Ackerman, the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo, has accused the plaintiffs of ripping off his book The Tetris Effect, which tells the history of the game... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-08-09 06:17:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #apple tv+ #tech giant #desist letter #major source #point home #lengthy list #real life #book written


Google says AI systems should be able to mine publishers’ work unless companies opt out

The tech company’s latest proposal about generative AI turns copyright law on its head, and could especially hurt smaller content creators, say expertsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastPublishers should... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-08 23:00:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #tech company #free morning #latest proposal #latest updatesget #free app #australian government #guardian australia #copyright law


What the sale of a major American book publisher means for authors, the industry — and you

Book publisher Simon & Schuster's sale to investment firm KKR is novel in many ways, but also part of a long-term trend. History tells us to expect the unexpected. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-08 17:35:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book publisher


As New Law Looms, Follett Asks Publishers to Help ‘Rate’ Their Own Books for Sale in Texas

With a lawsuit pending to block a controversial new "book rating" law from taking effect in Texas, publishers and industry groups are balking at a request from the nation's largest school distributor to help rate their own titles for sale in the state. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book rating #taking effect


US Publishers Mourn Bloomsbury’s Adrienne Vaughan

Bloomsbury Publishing president Adrienne Vaughan has died in a boat collision reportedly off the Furore Fjord on the Amalfi Coast. The post US Publishers Mourn Bloomsbury’s Adrienne Vaughan appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-08-04 22:07:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #adrienne vaughan #amalfi coast #bloomsbury


New Stephen Hawking children’s book to be published next year

You and the Universe, adapted from his posthumous 2020 Earth Day message, will bring the late physicist’s ‘extraordinary work to life for readers of all ages’A new children’s picture book by Stephen Hawking is due to be published six years after the theoretical physicist’s death.You and the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-04 12:26:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #extraordinary work #stephen hawking #theoretical physicist #big questions #publisher puffin #picture book #children’s book


Book Bans May Bring the Return of Child-Free Libraries: Censorship News, August 4, 2023

Policies in response to book bans are pushing kids out of libraries — plus, this week's censorship and book banning news. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2023-08-04 10:40:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book bans #libraries


Paul Reubens was writing a memoir that his team is 'hoping' to publish posthumously

Paul Reubens 'finished a first draft' of a memoir about his life and career before he died, a representative for the Pee-wee Herman actor has confirmed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-08-01 18:13:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #memoir


2023 In Memoriam: Children’s Book Creators and Publishers Remembered

See our tributes to children’s authors, illustrators, and publishers we have lost this year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-08-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book creators #children’s book


GPS Air seeks $1.8B in damages in defamation lawsuit vs. European publisher Elsevier

Charlotte-based air-purification company claims false results in study published in Elsevier-owned scientific journal. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2023-07-31 11:50:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #defamation lawsuit #study published #european publisher


British Independent Publisher HopeRoad Opens Fundraising Appeal

London's 13-year-old HopeRoad Publishing, focused on Caribbean, African, and Asian work, announces it's having cash-flow struggles. The post British Independent Publisher HopeRoad Opens Fundraising Appeal appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-07-28 17:14:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #independent publisher


Indie games have entered the era of bespoke publishing

For anyone with an eye on video game news, it’s been hard to ignore the recent rise of names like Annapurna Interactive, Devolver Digital, Private Division, Humble, Epic Games and Netflix tied to independent projects. The distribution process for indie developers has shifted over the past few... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-07-28 17:06:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #streaming service #libraries #indie publishing #self-publish