Ukrainian authors and writers criticise new state open access initiative - July 29, 2015
Ukrainian writers and authors are reportedly on the verge of massive protests, due to a recent initiative of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to conduct digitalisation and online publishing of all of the books and documents stored in the national archives and libraries. According to an official spokesman of… Read More
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to bring FASTR Act up for mark-up on July 29 - July 28, 2015
After a month of intense conversations and negotiations, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) will bring the 'Fair Access to Science and Technology Research (FASTR) Act' up for mark-up on July 29, 2015. The language that will be considered is an amended version… Read More
ARL joins 252 groups, 10 business leaders in a call to action for American ‘Innovation Imperative’ - June 24, 2015
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has joined scores of other organizations as well as leaders of American business, industry, higher education, science, and engineering in an urgent call to action for stronger federal policies and investment to drive domestic research and development. The move follows… Read More
European Commission opens formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s e-book distribution arrangements - June 16, 2015
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books ("e-books"). The Commission will in particular investigate certain clauses included in Amazon's contracts with publishers. These clauses require publishers to inform Amazon about more favourable… Read More
ARL publishes issue brief on the US Copyright Office’s Report on Orphan Works - June 15, 2015
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published an issue brief on the US Copyright Office's June 4, 2015, Report on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization, which includes recommendations for legislation on orphan works - copyrighted works whose owners are impossible to identify or contact -… Read More
U.S. Senate confirms Willie E. May as 15th director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology - May 6, 2015
On May 4, 2015, the U.S. Senate confirmed Willie E. May as the second Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and the 15th director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). May has been serving as acting director since June 2014.… Read More
