In a significant development, ACS and Elsevier, both members of the Coalition for Responsible Sharing, have reached a legal settlement with ResearchGate, paving the way for copyright-compliant sharing of research articles published with ACS or Elsevier on the ResearchGate platform. This resolution effectively ends the pending lawsuits against ResearchGate in both Germany and the United States. The specific details of the settlement remain confidential.
Dr. James Milne, Chair of the Coalition for Responsible Sharing and President of ACS Publications, hailed the agreement as a positive outcome for researchers. According to Dr. Milne, the settlement is good news for researchers. ACS, Elsevier, and ResearchGate have agreed on a technical solution that enables authors who have published research articles with ACS or Elsevier to share their work on the ResearchGate platform in a copyright-compliant way. Automated checks occur instantly at the point of upload, helping researchers to save time. He also emphasized that seeking legal intervention to clarify ResearchGate's responsibilities regarding copyright compliance was a necessary step. Publishers in the Coalition for Responsible Sharing are dedicated to promoting and facilitating the sharing of research articles, as it supports researchers in making societal advancements.
The ResearchGate platform will now conduct rights checks for ACS and Elsevier published content at the moment of upload. It will promptly determine how the content can be shared on the site. Authors will have the option to store their copyrighted ACS and Elsevier published Version of Record articles privately in their ResearchGate profiles and share them privately when requested by other users. Additionally, the platform will identify articles suitable for public sharing.
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