I certainly second the thoughts given by Armel.
There is no question that it is illegal to make a CD copy of the ICSD database,
but I fail to see any copyright violation in posting data originally obtained from
scientific journals.
Not paying the license fee precludes you from utilising some of the very neat
searching capabilities of such a database, but the individual entry contains
NO original data for which the ICSD can own the copyright.
> What copyright ? The atomic coordinates in ICSD, CSD and most (+50%)
> of the ICDD dcalc,dobs,Iobs,Icalc are taken by these companies in
> papers published in > 500 journals claiming also to possess the
> copyright.
>
> The question "who really possess the copyright" of such data
> mainly produced at academic research institutions has no
> clear answer. Do ICDD, CSD and ICSD have asked for the permission
> to those > 500 journals ? Do ICDD, CSD and ICSD
> are paying rights to these journal editors ? I think not. Are they
> pursued in justice ? Should they be pursued ?
>
> And if you use the PDF-2 database, which does not contain the
> atomic coordinates but contains all the calculated ICSD
> powder pattern, for obtaining a reference and then you copy
> the coordinates from the published paper, have you the right
> to send them on this mailing list ?
>
> Clarifying these questions would be pertinent.
> PS - I do not remember to have sent any ICSD, CSD or ICDD
> entry on any crystallography mailing list. But I certainly do
> remember having sent data to colleagues/friends asking me for
> them - privately - and without feeling guilty at all, due
> to all these above uncertainties about copyrighting
> a human patrimony, paid already, repaid each year....
> to "International centers".
Cand. Scient Jens Wenzel Andreasen
Dept. of Mineralogy
Geological Institute
University of Copenhagen
Oester Voldgade 10
DK-1350
Phone: +45 44 64 74 10/+45 28 18 10 83
