Recommended
Policies and Procedures for Handling Copyright in IUPAC Projects
Background
Much of the output of the work by IUPAC Task Groups, Commissions, and
Committees is published in written form or in computer databases. To
encourage widespread dissemination of this output, IUPAC normally copyrights
the material so as to be able to control its distribution and, in some
cases, to provide a financial return that can help pay some of the expenses
in creating the published material. For Recommendations and Reports
published in Pure and Applied Chemistry (PAC ), IUPAC routinely
grants the right to reproduce or translate the material without any
payment in order to foster wider dissemination. For material published
in book form,including compilations of evaluated data, and for corresponding
computer databases, IUPAC does not automatically grant free permission
for reproduction, but considers each case on its merits.
Questions have sometimes arisen about �ownership�of material published
(or about to be published) by IUPAC, primarily in terms of evaluated
compilations of data in written or computer-readable form. It is clear
from copyright laws and court decisions that data per se may not be
copyrighted, but the form in which they are presented may be. Thus ,an
IUPAC publication may use data that have appeared elsewhere, and other
producers of databases may use data from IUPAC publications, so long
as there is no verbatim copying of the material in the form presented.
On occasion, a database produced from IUPAC-endorsed material may be
thought to gain value from such an endorsement.
IUPAC Policy
1. Current policies regarding copyright and reproduction of material
from PAC allow reproduction, republication, and electronic storage
and/or dissemination, without payment of royalties to IUPAC, provided
that full reference is made to the source in PAC and acknowledgement
is given to IUPAC. Publication of a translation into another language
also requires prior approval from the relevant IUPAC National Adhering
Organization.
2. For projects that are expected to result in publishable material
(in written or computer-readable form), IUPAC normally anticipates that
the publication will be copyrighted by the Union, and volunteers working
on the project should be made fully aware of this policy.
3. IUPAC recognizes that, in addition to the financial support provided
by the Union for each project, individuals involved in a project usually
derive considerable financial resources from their employers, who may
have a legitimate interest in the material emerging from the project.
To the maximum extent possible, any potential conflicts should be worked
out, including agreement to share copyright and/or royalties, at the
inception of a project.
4. IUPAC strives to maximize dissemination of its published material
by cooperating with other entities where appropriate, including agreeing
to share copyright and/or royalties, if required.