From Book Piracy to Predatory Publishing : A Journey Through the History of Printing and the Ethics of Scholarly Communication

Abstract

Some of the problems characterized by contemporary academic communication are widely believed to be rooted in recent times. Issues such as predatory publishing and violations of research ethics and integrity are often considered to be the result of the expansion of digital publishing, especially open access. Although open access increases the risk of illegal or ethically wrong behaviour under certain conditions, access to research results increases the visibility and dissemination of publications. Not only is this a means of detecting bias cases that are otherwise more difficult to detect. A number of other critical issues related to the ethics and integrity of scientific research are rising, but also become apparent thanks to the potential of technology, such as predator magazines and conferences, paper factories that make scientific papers, zombies that emerge from bad management. The book describes harmful practices in scientific communication, destroying its credibility today, and draws backwards, showing the line of continuity with the past centuries. The integration of media history, the emphasis on book piracy, and the debate on intellectual freedom, which led to the establishment of the first copyright law and ignited Enlightenment, were crucial in modern times and were considered a possible transition to a new paradigm.