A little bit of a discussion has been going on Medlib-l regarding the Bates' guide to physical examination and history taking. 9th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Although the book and accompanying CD ROM was published in December 2005, the publisher lists the copyright date as 2007.

The discussion started as a Medlib post from Marlene Englander and if you know Marlene you know this is (and has been) one her pet peeves. The response she got from the publisher is that they apply the copyright a year after the text publishes to extend the life of the copyright.

Huh?! Really does this make a whole lot of sense?

Some librarians wondered whether this might have an effect on attourneys and malpractice claims, while other librarians on the list questioned whether it was ok to now copy the book and CD in 2006 since the copyright doesn't start until 2007. However, Scott Plutchack mentioned, "the copyright clock starts automatically when the thing is actually published, regardless of what date they print the item. Registering with the copyright office gets you some additional legal remedies, but it doesn't change the effective date of the copyright." Mark Funk then probably hit the nail on the head with the comment that it basically it all comes down to sales and money for the publishers.

"This makes the book 'current' for a longer period of time. Most potential scientific book purchasers want current information. When comparing two apparently equal texts, the most current is perceived as being "better." In this case, a book published in January 2006 with a copyright date of 2007 will be perceived as being "current" for two full years. A similar book from another publisher, published in June 2006 with a copyright date of 2006 will be perceived as being current for only seven months."

Really, deep down we all know it had to do with money, but is it really ethical? I don't understand how this type of practice is appropriate with medical information. I wonder if this practice extends to other types of information resources?