Medical and Scientific Authorship: A Conflict between Discipline Rules and the Law

Journal of Law and Medicine, vol 23, pt 2, pp 413-426

16 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2016 Last revised: 22 Oct 2016

See all articles by Elizabeth Adeney

Elizabeth Adeney

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School

Date Written: December 1, 2015

Abstract

When the results of medical collaborations are to be published, questions of authorship arise. Which members of the research team are to be acknowledged as authors of the paper? In what order are they to be acknowledged? Institutional rules will generally determine the attribution of authorship to members of the research team. However, those rules are most unlikely to be consistent with the legal rules governing authorship and its attribution, most of which will apply regardless of a team’s adherence to institutional rules. This article examines the meaning of authorship in the medical community, and in the legal community under the copyright laws. It considers various formulations of the institutional rules governing authorship, as well as editorial practices. Through consideration of a hypothetical scenario, the consequences of the disparity between authorship norms in law and in medicine are elaborated.

Keywords: scientific authorship, copyright law, moral rights, collaboration, science and medicine

JEL Classification: K29

Suggested Citation

Adeney, Elizabeth, Medical and Scientific Authorship: A Conflict between Discipline Rules and the Law (December 1, 2015). Journal of Law and Medicine, vol 23, pt 2, pp 413-426, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2853171 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2853171

Elizabeth Adeney (Contact Author)

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia - Deakin Law School ( email )

221 Burwood Highway
Burwood
Burwood, Victoria 3125, Victoria 3125
Australia

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