5 Ethical and Legal Considerations

A number of cases in US law have served as the foundation for or have directly supported the confidential nature of the editorial and peer review process.In 1972, the US Supreme Court ruled in Branzburg v Hayes that a reporter could be forced to testify if, during the course of news gathering, the reporter became a witness to a crime. However, the court also noted that individual states could create their own standards with regard to a journalistic privilege (ie, a right) to keep sources of information confidential, allowing lower courts in subsequent rulings to support such privilege. With this ...Less

When editors or editorial board members are interviewed and evaluated for a prospective position with a journal, all participants in the selection process should be reminded that all discussions should remain confidential. In some cases, a signed statement of confidentiality may be requested of members of search/interview committees. Without assurance of such confidentiality, professional reputations and the journal’s relationship with influential academic and political leaders may be jeopardized (see , Editorial Responsibilities, Roles, Procedures, and Policies, Role of the Editorial Board). ...Less

Of all the causes which conspire to blindMan’s erring judgment, and misguide the mind,What the weak head with strongest bias rules,Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.    Alexander PopeA conflict of interest occurs when an individual’s objectivity is potentially, but not necessarily, compromised by a desire for prominence, professional advancement, financial gain, or a successful outcome. Conflicts of interest that arise from personal or financial relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion are not uncommon in science. In biomedical publication, a conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author’s institution, employer, or funder) has financial or other relationships that ...Less

To copy or reproduce an entire work without authorization from the copyright owner constitutes copyright infringement. However, a reasonable type and amount of copying of a copyrighted work is permitted under the fair use provisions of US copyright law.(§107)What constitutes fair use of copyrighted material in a given case depends on the following 4 factors(§107): 1. Purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes2. Nature of the copyrighted work3. Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole4. Effect of ...Less

Typically, copyright of a work vests initially with the author of the work. As copyright owner, an author may transfer rights to a publisher by copyright assignment, exclusive license, or nonexclusive license., A broadly worded exclusive license may provide much of the same rights to publishers as would a copyright transfer agreement. Thus, an owner of an exclusive assignment (through either copyright transfer or broadly worded exclusive license) may produce derivative works and sublicense specific rights to others. Some publishers permit authors to retain certain rights to their works, even when assigning copyright or granting an exclusive license (such as ...Less

Although use of a copyright notice is not required under copyright law, the US Copyright Office strongly recommends use of such a notice. A copyright notice for all visual copies of a work should contain the following 3 elements(§401): The word “Copyright,” or abbreviation “Copr,” or the symbol ©, The year of first publication of the work, and The name of the copyright owner Example: Copyright 2007 American Medical AssociationNote: For JAMA and the Archives Journals, the wording above includes the name of the owner of the journals (American Medical Association), not the name of the journal. It is recommended ...Less

Additional information about copyright law may be obtained from several sources. For a detailed legal account, consult Perle and Williams on Publishing Law or Nimmer on Copyright (although these resources are expensive and may be best consulted via a library that has these in its holdings). Other useful texts include The Chicago Manual of Style chapter “Rights and Permissions” and Law of the Web: A Field Guide to Internet Publishing. Specific information, useful guides, and forms may be obtained free of charge from the US Copyright Office,,,,,,: US Copyright OfficeLibrary of Congress101 Independence Ave SEWashington, DC 20559-6000Telephone: (202) 707-3000www.copyright.govAdditional useful ...Less

Copyright is a term used to describe the legal right of authors to control the communication and reproduction of their original works of authorship., Thus, copyright law provides for the protection of rights of parties involved in the creation and dissemination of intellectual property. While a variety of people and entities derive benefits from copyright laws (authors, publishers, editors, composers, artists, and the producers of television and radio programs, films, sound recordings, video, computer programs, and software), few thoroughly understand the law and its basic applications. This section discusses current copyright laws and applications in scientific publishing. Copyright laws, scope, ...Less

Journals should publish corrections (or errata) following errors or important omissions made by authors or introduced by editors, manuscript editors, production staff, or printers.,, According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, journal editors have a duty to publish corrections in a timely manner; however, the age of the original article in which the error was made should not be used as a reason not to publish a correction. Corrections to print publications should be published on a numbered editorial page and listed in the journal’s table of contents. It is preferable to publish corrections in a consistent place ...Less

A biomedical journal should provide a forum for readers and authors to participate in postpublication peer review and scientific dialogue and to exchange important information, especially with regard to articles published in the journal.,, A common forum for such exchange is the correspondence, or letters to the editor, column (see also , Types of Articles, Correspondence). Such letters become part of the published record and, like articles, are indexed by bibliographic databases. In the correspondence column, journal readers have the opportunity to offer relevant comments, query authors, and provide objective and scholarly criticism of published articles. Authors of articles to ...Less