New Wiley / Lumina Datamatics partnership highlights importance of rights management to modern publi
It's not enough with modern publishing efforts to provide tools for creating content. For many, providing rights clearance and ecosystem-wide protection against piracy is increasingly essential.
Back in 2011, Steve Jobs and Apple correctly surmised that textbooks were in dire need of disruption, and in early 2012 (after Jobs had passed away), Apple rolled out iBooks Author as the solution which could be used by educators to create digital textbooks.
One of the critical reasons why the software did not catch on, and this effort largely failed, had nothing to do with the technology itself, which was quite powerful and flexible. Rather, it was because schools had trouble navigating minefields of rights management issues which arose during the process of educators attempting to use the software.
Where did all these images come from? Do we have permission to use them? What about the audio? What about the video? What about the text itself - did the educator actually write this, or was it stolen from somewhere and might pose a risk to the entire school system down the road to a lawsuit?
These are questions most schools don't have the stomach for, and a threshold of risk most educational institutions, whether K-12 or higher ed, aren't willing to tolerate.
Knowing that history makes this announcement from Wiley and Lumina Datamatics pretty exciting. Lumina Datamatics users, as of this news, now have access to millions of new assets, all fully cleared from a rights standpoint and able to be searched efficiently as well.
Even though this partnership is oriented around scholarly and academic publishing, anyone creating publishing ecosystems and tools of any kind should take note: providing libraries of assets for use within these ecosystems can mean the difference between critical mass of adoption, and creating tools that are here today and gone tomorrow.
The full press release is below.
Wiley and Lumina Datamatics increase the discoverability of millions of images from Wiley Online Library
Hoboken, N.J —April 3, 2018— John Wiley and Sons Inc. (NYSE:JWa) (NYSE:JWb) and Lumina Datamatics today announced a new partnership that will enable the discovery and legal use of Wiley vast collection of images and figures on Lumina’s Rights Platform. Lumina Datamatics will increase the accessibility of critical figures and images found in Wiley’s publications, while empowering users to search, identify and clear permission to reuse the most appropriate images for their needs. Whether for personal research, re-use in new publications, educational and training materials, presentations or promotional purposes, this service will satisfy the growing need to utilize a wide range of content in a new way that ensures copyright compliance.
“Wiley has published millions of figures and images built on our heritage of over 210-years of quality publishing. Now these assets can be easily found, accessed and utilized by researchers, members of the public and enterprises, regardless of whether or not they subscribe to or purchase our publications. Clearing rights to reuse the assets is quick and easy. We see this as a really innovative and helpful service for our customers and we are thrilled that Lumina Datamatics will be helping us to accomplish this,” said Jen Holton, Wiley Director of Copyright and Permissions.
Lumina’s online Rights Platform leverages tagged metadata to empower search for visual content such as images, figures, tables, graphs and charts - either from a specific publication or via subject-specific keywords. The user-friendly e-commerce interface enables seamless licensing transactions and the delivery of high resolution files.
“We are delighted to be working with Wiley in this prestigious project where we will help the global scholarly community access and reuse content from the rich archive of Wiley. We believe that this innovative initiative will be of immense use to both Lumina and Wiley's customers.” – said Vidur V Bhogilal, Vice-Chairman, Lumina Datamatics.
About Lumina Datamatics
Lumina Datamatics is a specialized content, data and analytics solutions provider through its innovative platforms, products and services. It helps global publishers offer immersive learning experiences and faster discovery of Information and data for learners across age groups and professions. It also helps online retailers create engaging experiences for their buyers and sellers.
About Wiley
Wiley, a global research and learning company, helps people and organizations develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. Our online scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, combined with our digital learning, assessment and certification solutions help universities, learned societies, businesses, governments and individuals increase the academic and professional impact of their work.
