RE: Fair-Use/Schmair-Use...

["Sally Morris \(Morris Associates\)" <sally@morris-assocs.demon.co.uk>]

I don't think I (and publishers I know of) have any problem with 
what the so-called 'Fair Use button' does.  The problem lies in 
Stevan's nomenclature, which completely misrepresents what Fair 
Use is and does, and thereby risks misleading innocent academics 
about an important and useful legal concept ...

I'd prefer something like 'e-offprint request button' (since this 
is really the electronic equivalent of someone writing to request 
a paper offprint). Yes, I know it uses the dreaded word 'print' 
(but so does e-print, preprint etc) so let's not get into that!

Sally Morris
Email:  sally@morris-assocs.demon.co.uk

   _____

From: Laura Young Bost [mailto:laura@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu]
Sent: 20 August 2007 13:47
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: Fair-Use/Schmair-Use...

Perhaps we could take this discussion in a slightly different 
direction.

I believe Stevan said he originally called the "button" the 
"eprint reprint button" (or something like that). But that didn't 
seem to him to really describe to potential users the 
functionality he envisioned for it, or it wasn't getting enough 
attention and/or use with that designation.

So he renamed it the "fair use button" which by all legal 
definitions it is not. Although it sounds good, it does not 
actually describe the usage.

What if he called it the "free access" button?

That seems to me to be the actual use he wants potential users 
(both authors and requesters) to understand. It would be clear 
that authors would give any requester a free copy of the 
article--isn't that how he has been describing what the "button" 
does?

Laura Young Bost, Rights Manager
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
tel:512/232-7625; fax:512/232-7178
email: laura@utpress.ppb.utexas.edu