Policies and Legal Issues

There are a number of legal issues surrounding open access repositories, mostly relating to copyright and intellectual property rights (IPR). On the one hand, the repository must be careful not to infringe the rights of the copyright holders (publishers and/or authors). On the other, it also needs to be clear about the rights it is granting to users of the repository, for instance for the re-use of metadata and for data mining. Clearly formulated policies not only help you keep a grip on legal issues, but will also help you to foster good administrative practices.

Copyright and licensing issues were outlined at a JISC 'Rights & Repositories Programme Meeting' in September 2008. The presentations include case studies and top tips from the experts as listed below.

The OpenDOAR Policy Tool lists a comprehensive set of options for the policies listed below. You can choose from the tool's pick lists to define policies for your repository, and then generate policy web pages and documents. The tool has a users' guide: 'OpenDOAR Policy Tools for dummies'.

Content Policies

Policies on the content types, languages and subjects eligible for inclusion in the repository.

Submission Policies

Policies on who can submit content, and how material is moderated.

Data Re-use Policies

Policies on the re-use of your repository's metadata, full-text and other full-data items.

Preservation Policies

Policies on the long-term preservation of the repository content, withdrawal policies, etc.

Copyright Issues

Outline of the copyright issues that impinge on Open Access repositories.

Take-down Policies

What to do in cases of suspected copyright infringement.

Embargoes

Approaches to handling publishers' embargoes and embargoes on theses and dissertations.

Planning Checklist

This planning checklists offers as a series of key questions designed to ‘make you think' about legal and policy issues.

References

JISC (2008) Rights & Repositories Programme Meeting, London, 5th Sep.2008

• Top tips:
• Choosing the right licence - Charles Oppenheim
• Risk management - Naomi Korn
• Negotiating with rights holders - Karen Ghai
• Reshaping cultural perceptions of copyright - John Casey

Millington, Peter. (2007). OpenDOAR Policy Tools for dummies