© 2005 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
Editorial |
Message from the Editor: intellectual property rights in scientific publication
Intellectual property rights is increasingly an important topic in today's society. In my previous Editorial (Volume 35, No. 9), I wrote about the ease of online publishing and the associated risk of plagiarism. It is also true that it is difficult for editors of a journal to check for plagiarism or the violation of intellectual property amongst such an explosion of information.
I regret to announce that the authors of an article published in JJCO have not taken the necessary procedures to publish the scale used in their study. In ‘Validation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) Scale for Measuring the Health-related Quality of Life in Korean Women with Breast Cancer’ by Eun-Hyun Lee, Mison Chun, Seunghee Kang and Hye-Jin Lee. Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2004;34(7):393–9, the authors have published a modified version of the FACT-G scale, owned by Facit.org. However, it has been found that the scale used in the study was a revised version of the authorized Korean translation of FACT-G. The revisions have been made without authorization from Facit.org and the necessary acknowledgement concerning the ownership of the scale was not made.
I send my sincere apologies to Facit.org and at the same time ask authors to be aware of the need for clearing permission and publishing acknowledgements for borrowed material used in their articles (to obtain FACIT.org's permission, contact David Cella, PhD, FACIT.org, 328 Myrtle Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126, USA. See also http://facit.org/). Though editors will review the scientific validity of articles, they, or the Journal, cannot take responsibility over legal matters involved. This is implied in the authors' responsibility form which authors of every article are required to submit.
Furthermore, I would like to introduce a disclaimer for the Journal as follows. The disclaimers will be posted on the Journal home page.
DISCLAIMER
Statements of fact and opinion in the articles published in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology or Oxford University Press. Neither Oxford University Press nor the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology make any representation, express or implied in respect to the accuracy of the material in this journal and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. The reader should make his/her own evaluation as to the appropriateness or otherwise of any experimental technique described.
DRUG DISCLAIMER
The mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations, and the inclusion of advertisements in the journal does not imply endorsement by the Guarantors of Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, the editors, the editorial board, Oxford University Press or the organization to which the authors are affiliated. The editors and publishers have taken all reasonable precautions to verify drug names and doses, the results of experimental work and clinical findings published in the journal. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned in the journal and in interpretation of published material lies with the medical practitioner, and the editors and publishers cannot accept liability for damages arising from any errors or omissions in the journal. Please inform the editors of any errors.
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