Just copy ‘n paste: US sanctions ban editing

For US publishers, changing so much as a comma in an author’s work could land them in jail for upto 10 years or run up a fine of half-m...

For US publishers, changing so much as a comma in an author’s work could land them in jail for upto 10 years or run up a fine of half-million dollars.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has recently said American publishers cannot edit works authored in nations under trade embargoes — while publishing is legal, editing is a ‘‘service’’ which cannot be extended.

This week, the American Chemical Society opted to risk prosecution by editing articles from the five embargoed nations — Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya and Cuba. ‘‘I decided that the risks of damaging our publishing programme outweighed the risks of being in violation of the law,’’ said Robert Bovenschulte, head of the society’s publications division.

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The society publishes more than 24,000 articles a year — 60 pc come from foreign nations. ‘‘By not publishing articles from the five countries under trade embargo, we were violating our ethical guidelines that the basis for deciding what to publish is the quality of the science in the material… (not) the national origin,’’ Bovenschulte said. ‘‘If the government decides to prosecute, I think we are going to be in good company.’’

That may not be so. ‘‘We are an ethical operation,’’ said Michael Lightner, vice president for publications of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. ‘‘We operate under the laws of the countries in which we do business.’’ His journals will publish articles unedited. Bush’s science adviser John H. Marburger III said he supports ‘‘the use of economic sanctions,’’ but ‘‘I’m concerned about the impact…on scientific publishing and …openness. We are working for a satisfactory resolution.’’ —(LAT-WP)