In Retraction Watch, Mark Barnes Discussed Paper Retraction Defamation Case

In a Retraction Watch article, health care partner Mark Barnes discussed the legal issues surrounding a $1 billion defamation case against Elsevier that alleges the company published what plaintiff Global Plasma Solutions (GPS) says was a manipulated study about an air purifying technology over objections from peer reviewers.

Mark notes the GPS case is an outlier, because not many aggrieved parties sue a publisher, as opposed to authors over scientific articles. While internet providers are not generally liable for the content they facilitate, publishers and journals have an increased duty because they select which articles to publish. “Their process of selection imposes legal and ethical duties that go beyond that of a common carrier, even though the authors must bear primary responsibility for accuracy of their content,” said Mark.