[Taxacom] print on demand publishers -ICZN implications

[Doug Yanega]

David Campbell wrote:

>To state the problem better, how does one tell the difference between
>mere print on demand and valid publication?  This ties into the
>oft-repeated arguments about how many copies are enough, and is also
>an issue for online publications-just because Fabricus, 1823 is now
>readily available online should not revoke the ICZN Opinion 521 that
>it was not validly published.
>
>On Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 5:59 PM, Stephen Thorpe
><stephen_thorpe at yahoo.co.nz> wrote:
>>  I'm not sure that David meant "print on demand"? What if someone prints a
>>  big run and then offers them for sale? Effectively, it is a new publication,
>  > which happens to be a copy of an old work ...

A reproduction is not a new publication, no matter how many copies 
are produced. The criteria under Art 8.1 are not possible to satisfy 
with anything other than the *original* publication on its stated 
date. I doubt anyone would accept such a wildly liberal 
interpretation as to claim that copies of a Fabricius paper published 
in 2012 would constitute a "Fabricius, 2012" publication. What was 
published in 1823 (or whenever) is what counts, no matter how many 
copies might be made available through some later "edition". That 
does not mean, of course, that we can't "tighten up" the wording in 
teh next Code to accommodate for cases like these, and people like 
Stephen for whom every possible nuance has to be spelled out in 
excruciating detail, or else be subject to debate.

As for original works, Art 8.1.3 still applies, and we do indeed take 
most publishers' word that this is how they produce their print 
editions. It's not easy to tell these days, and here we will 
*certainly* need tighter wording - though the accommodation for 
e-only publication should alleviate some of the problems.

Sincerely,
-- 

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314        skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
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