Recently, the network rumored that "the Chinese Academy of Sciences was overwhelmed by nearly 10 million renewal costs and deactivated the CNKI database". According to the news, CNKI proposed nearly 10 million renewal fees and "harsh" renewal conditions, resulting in negotiations that could not be agreed. As soon as the news came out, it caused widespread concern in the society, and CNKI also gave a response. At present, the relevant events are still fermenting.
An email from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the voice of "the world's bitter knowledge network" rose again
The Rule of Law Network Research Institute noted that according to the feedback from the Literature and Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, since 2008, the Documentation and Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has borne the full subscription fee and opened the database of CNKI scientific and technological journals and doctoral and master's degree theses throughout the hospital. Over the years, CNKI Database has maintained a high increase in renewal prices due to its influential market position in the Chinese journal database market. In 2021, the total cost of the CNKI database subscription of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Group will reach the level of tens of millions, and the high ordering cost of the database has become the "Big Mac" in the introduction of resources by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Group.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences Documentation And Information Center said that in 2022, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Documentation and Information Center and Tongfang CNKI (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. actively discussed the cost and subscription model, but after many rounds of arduous negotiations, the CNKI database still insisted on a renewal fee of close to 10 million, and the group group plan it gave was quite harsh in terms of the number of members and the price of a single family.
A number of media have confirmed the above news, so it has set off another round of "the world's bitter knowledge network for a long time" reporting boom.
Under the surging public opinion, CNKI naturally cannot "pretend to sleep". On April 19, CNKI issued a note saying that in 2022, the Documentation and Information Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences adjusted the procurement model of some databases at home and abroad, including CNKI database, from a unified centralized procurement model to a joint procurement model organized by institutions in need. After friendly consultation, the work of adjusting the subscription model of CNKI database is being promoted in an orderly manner, and the order content is selected by each institute, and it is planned to complete the group work, sign the agreement and start the 2022 annual service in the near future.
In fact, in recent years, Many universities such as Wuhan University of Technology, Peking University, Taiyuan University of Technology, Nanjing Normal University, Jimei University, Jinling Institute of Science and Technology have publicly stated that they are difficult to withstand the sharp price increase of CNKI, and have also aroused social concern. However, due to CNKI's high market share in the field of domestic literature retrieval, most universities and CNKI can finally reach some kind of compromise due to its price increase requirements.
However, in the midst of the criticism of CNKI, Wang Zhengzhi, a partner at Gaowen Law Firm, believes that as the right holder of the database, CNKI has the right to determine the price within the legal scope, and as a user, the Chinese Academy of Sciences also has the right to choose the goods or services that it deems cost-effective. "If it is a compliant operation, this matter is more like the items on the supermarket shelves with high prices, and the customer looks at it and turns away." A common sale and purchase contract in business choices, where one party asks for the price and the other party does not accept it. ”
The accumulated "slot points" and the embarrassment of "one party has difficulties and eight parties like"
Founded in June 1999, CNKI was founded in June 1999 and has developed into the largest and oldest professional Internet and electronic publishing institution in mainland China. According to the enterprise inspection APP, CNKI is mainly responsible for the organization and collection of knowledge resources, resource product planning and design, content editing and product publishing, and owns the overall and content editing copyright of CNKI database.
However, in the process of development, CNKI's business model has been frequently questioned, and it has repeatedly fallen into copyright disputes, communication rights disputes, price increase disputes, and monopoly challenges.
In fact, in recent years, many scholars have sued CNKI for copyright infringement and eventually won the lawsuit.
In this regard, Feng Xiaoqing, professor at China University of Political Science and Law and vice president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, analyzed that in recent years, with the development of information network technology, newspaper and periodical societies usually require authors to grant the right to disseminate their works through information network platforms such as CNKI through information networks through information networks in the form of online registration and submission. There is some controversy as to whether CNKI's act of uploading these works and disseminating them on the information network constitutes an infringement of the author's right of information network dissemination. At present, the cooperation model between CNKI, newspaper publishers and authors should be said to have certain problems. The root cause of the problem is that when CNKI cooperated with newspapers and periodicals, authors who enjoyed the right to disseminate information networks as clearly stipulated in the Copyright Law became de facto "outsiders".
Liu Xiaochun, executive director of the Internet Rule of Law Research Center of the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said that at present, in some cases of CNKI, the main basis for court judgments is copyright and the right of information network dissemination. However, some legal professionals are also concerned about whether CNKI is suspected of abusing its dominant market position, which will involve whether it is suspected of violating the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China.
Previously, in response to the outside world's suspected monopoly questions about CNKI, on March 9 this year, the Anti-Monopoly Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation responded: "The State Administration for Market Regulation is verifying and studying. ”
Nowadays, the problems facing people are: on the one hand, CNKI's fees for colleges and universities are constantly rising; on the other hand, the remuneration for master's and doctoral dissertations collected from universities is low, and the price of dissertation double-check services is still rising... How to smooth this price chain is indeed a problem.
Professor Huang Wushuang, director of the Intellectual Property Research Center of East China University of Political Science and Law, analyzed that when CNKI collected master's or doctoral dissertations from universities, it only signed a license agreement for the use of papers with universities, and did not directly sign a licensing agreement with the author of the paper. Universities require authors to authorize the use of papers and sub-authors. On the surface, the authorization chain is open, but the actual situation depends on whether the author's authorization to the university includes the right to disseminate information networks. Of course, generally including the right to disseminate information networks, the authorization letter that universities ask for from the authors of papers has been reviewed by CNKI. But very few authors have received royalties, that is, money. According to the previous data, even if some thesis authors have received money, it is pitiful, and the copyright holder of the doctoral dissertation obtains a one-time "CNKI network database universal search reading card" worth 400 yuan and a cash remuneration of 100 yuan; the master's thesis copyright holder receives a one-time "CNKI network database universal search reading card" worth 300 yuan and a cash remuneration of 60 yuan. There is a serious imbalance between its remuneration and the proportion earned by CNKI from papers.
It is precisely because of the accumulation of a number of "slot points" in the development of CNKI in recent years, once it encounters litigation or dispute incidents continuously, it can cause some public opinion field to "resonate", causing netizens to complain, and even have the trend of "one party has difficulties, eight parties like".
How to resolve the "resentment" of the public opinion field
Further improvements to the business model are needed
For CNKI, the atmosphere of public opinion that has caused this kind of paradox today is the time to think bitterly and try to resolve the "resentment". How to improve the business model and establish a healthy development path is becoming a problem that CNKI must face.
In this regard, Li Mingde, executive vice president of the China Intellectual Property Law Research Association, believes that it cannot be said that CNKI has done this for twenty years, that is, there is no problem, and it is necessary to examine the problem in the context of a more sound rule of law. CNKI's business model needs to be rethought, otherwise, it is likely to be tired of dealing with round after round of litigation and disputes.
Feng Xiaoqing said that in the future, CNKI should explore and improve its business cooperation model in depth. The basic principle of this business model construction is that a balance of interests should be built between the author, the newspaper and the newspaper company and CNKI. "My suggestion is that in the submission agreement between the newspaper and the author, the author's right to disseminate information network and the corresponding right to remuneration should not be simply and rudely excluded, but should be agreed upon to be used on the CNKI platform after the work is published, and a certain amount of income should be shared according to the use of the work."
Zhang Xin, executive director of the Digital Economy and Legal Innovation Research Center of the University of International Business and Economics, said that in terms of future business models, first of all, it is recommended that CNKI amend the copyright statement and enhance the duty of care in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China and the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, so as to obtain the author's information network dissemination right in a legal, compliant and efficient manner, and reduce the copyright risk in the operation process. Secondly, as a head database platform, CNKI should actively explore a win-win cooperation model for authors, journals and other multi-party entities in its industrial chain under the framework of compliance, so as to promote the healthy development of the content industry.
The Rule of Law Network Research Institute noted that Wang Liangming, chairman of CNKI, said in an interview with the media: "The purpose of THE INITIAL ESTABLISHMENT OF CNKI was to provide comprehensive and systematic and timely intelligence services to scientific and technological personnel across the country. ”
Looking at the future, whether CNKI can still pick up this original intention and go on the road needs to be a question mark.
Topic Selection Planning /Rule of Law Network Research Institute
Text/Shen Ruoshui
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Editor/Zheng Chunxin
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