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Question for Chuck Bower

Posted By: Timothy Chow
Date: Thursday, 8 October 2009, at 2:50 p.m.

In Response To: Question for Chuck Bower (David Rockwell)

David Rockwell wrote:

What would happen in the world of science if someone wrote a paper or book using data compiled by someone else that was publically available? Would that be legal or not? How would that be viewed ethically in the scientific community?

"Publicly available" can mean a couple of different things, but typically, publicly available data can be used by other researchers as long as proper credit is given for the source. The thing to understand is that when a scientist publishes a paper or book, he or she is not primarily concerned with making money, but with getting recognition. The cardinal sin is plagiarism—taking credit for someone else's ideas.

However, if there is money at stake then the equation changes. Certain kinds of scientific discoveries can be patented. The information is then "publicly available," but you must pay licensing fees or negotiate a contract with the inventor.

Rollouts are a tricky case; I don't know how the courts would react if it came to that. The fact that the person who did the rollout may have invested significant time and effort is likely to factor into the court's decision.

If you're thinking about using someone else's rollouts then the obvious thing to do is to try to contact the author; they may grant permission without any fuss. If someone else has taken your rollouts and published them without permission and you're contemplating legal action, then you should probably consult a lawyer.

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