“Copyright and Terms of Use”

It was with great interest that I read the contribution of Korman and co-workers proposing a standardized and structured terminology for reporting capsule endoscopy procedures [1]. The authors address an important topic concerning a young field of endoscopy. The accompanying paper, in which the results of a retrospective testing and validation study are reported, further underlines their commendable intentions [2].

Nevertheless, I was astonished to find in Endoscopy, the official organ of the ESGE, a publication starting with a whole page of copyright statements in favour of the leading manufacturer of small-bowel imaging devices. Notably, this very manufacturer is the main sponsor of the paper and working group.

Whilst keenly seeking third-party sponsorship for research work, scientific communities generally agree that reporting of results in scientific journals should be free of commercial interference. As an European author, I am regularly puzzled to find scientific articles in American journals flagged as advertisements solely on grounds of payment of a page fee by the authors (often enough from small budgets and meant to keep the journal free of commercial advertisements). In view of this, the precedent of this publication in an issue of Endoscopy opens up entirely new strategies for sponsors who seek to impose conditions on the reporting of research findings. These concerns are not dispelled by a note at the bottom of the first page of the article that clearly states commercial sponsorship. Even in times of financial constraints, the editors of scientific journals should resist any third-party attempt to infiltrate scientific communication.

More fundamentally, should we accept that the language and structure doctors use to communicate examination findings are subject to “copyright and terms of use”?

Competing interests: None

References

• 1 Korman L Y, Delvaux M, Gay G. et al . Capsule endoscopy structured terminology (CEST): Proposal of a standardized and structured terminology for reporting capsule endoscopy procedures.  Endoscopy.. 2005;  37 951-959
• 2 Delvaux M, Friedman S, Keuchel M. et al . Structured terminology for capsule endoscopy: results of retrospective testing and validation in 766 small-bowel investigations.  Endoscopy.. 2005;  37 945-950