In the last five years, open-access journals have appeared all over the Internet with websites that look familiar and trustworthy. Unfortunately sometimes looks can be deceiving. Wired brought this news to us in their article, “The FTC Is Cracking Down on Predatory Science Journals.”
The looks of these publishers’ sites have deceived thousands of young and inexperienced researchers all over the world, costing them money and possibly their reputations.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken an interest in these faux and sometimes malicious publishers. They have even identified one specifically known as OMICS Group, a global conglomerate based in India and incorporated in Nevada. OMICS boasts more than 700 leading-edge, peer reviewed open access journals on its website.
In an out of character move for the FTC, they have filed suit against the company. This lawsuit will set a precedent for how the academic publishing industry is regulated, and how the body of scientific work is created and shared in the age of open access information.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.
