What’s going on at SSRN?  Over at Prawfsblawg, Dan Markel has a post entitled “SSRN, WTF?” questioning SSRN’s terms of service which allow editing and translation.  Now see below my correspondence with SSRN, since they now want to print and sell my work.  I emailed my colleagues immediately about this, writing: “Colleagues.  See the email below.  I have chosen to opt out of this option for environmental reasons and so as not to upset the apple cart on all my pre-existing copyright agreements that allowed for online publication of my articles on SSRN, but failed to make any mention of actual print distribution.”

My edited (for length) reply to SSRN with their original email below:

I do not want to have my papers on the SSRN eLibrary available for the new hard copy service.

I suspect many others will not want his as well since it may conflict with various copyright agreements.

Thanks,

Jason J. Czarnezki

Professor of Law

Vermont Law School

From: Gregg Gordon [mailto:Admin@SSRN.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 1:49 PM
To: czarnezki@gmail.com
Subject: SSRN Announces Forthcoming “Purchase Bound Hard Copy” option for Free PDF documents in SSRN eLibrary

Dear Jason J. Czarnezki,

In response to requests from authors and readers to purchase printed and bound hard copies of papers on SSRN, we will soon release a “Purchase Bound Hard Copy” service for most free PDF files in SSRN’s eLibrary. We have contracted with a New York company to do the printing, binding and shipping.

The price for one or more bound hard copies will be $9.99 per copy plus shipping. Free PDF files with a minimum of 19 pages and a maximum of 240 pages will be eligible for printing. The PDF document will be printed in black and white, “perfect bound” with a glossy color cover, and shipped to United States addresses only. A “Purchase Bound Hard Copy” option will be added on the abstract page of each eligible paper. The existing options, including free One-Click Download, will remain the same, and each purchased hard copy will count as a download.

Any author, who does not want to have his or her free papers in the SSRN eLibrary available for this new service, can opt out at any time by emailing the request to AuthorSupport@SSRN.com, or calling the SSRN office at 877-SSRNHelp (877.777.6435) in the United States, or +1 585 442 8170 outside of the United States, between 8:30 am and 6 pm Monday through Friday (U.S. Eastern). If you request to opt out of the “Purchase Bound Hard Copy” service, ALL papers that are authored or co-authored by you will not display the “Purchase Bound Hard Copy” option on your abstract page(s). Please notify us by Friday, October 29, 2010 if you do not want your papers included in the initial roll-out of this new service. You may change your participation status at any time in the future.

We hope you will enjoy the convenience of this new service.

Gregg Gordon
President
Social Science Research Network