Implications of the UnCover suit

Someone posted this question on a list, and it got me thinking…

I am wondering if anyone knows more about the
implications of the UnCover suit? It seems to me — woefully ignorant of
coprught law — that this suit is similar to the recent Napster one and the
Screen Actors Guild one…in which musicians or actors are demanding payment
for each use of their material. Is this correct?


Next, I am wondering how this UnCover decision plays out in the academic
world. I have always had to sign away copyright to the publisher of the jrnl
in which my piece was to appear. (I am particularly sensitive about this
right now as I\’ve recently gone thru a period of strained relations with the
press that holds the copyright on one of my articles.) What is the future of
academic publishing after this decision? Will jrnls only publish articles
that have a re-sale value?