The changing copyright landscape in academic publishing

The publication of the Tenth edition Clark's Publishing Agreements: A book of precedents (Owen, 2017) provides an opportunity to reflect on the changing copyright landscape in academic publishing. Some of the tensions and forces at work are highlighted by, the editor, Lynette Owen in the Preface to the new edition: '…copyright has remained under the microscope at both national and international level, and it is all the more important to achieve a fair balance between the interests of creators, the publishers who invest in bringing their works to market, and users of those works, many of whom continue to feel that content should be freely available.' (Owen 2017). This article discusses the following themes: - The growing range of terms covered by author-publisher contracts - The shifting balance between assignment and licensing of rights in an author's work - Researchers' attitudes to the changing copyright landscape - Future trends in the field