Dx Revision Watch=20
http://dxrevisionwatch.wordpress.com/=20
=20
12 January 2012
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201201/dsm-5-censors=
hip-fails
Psychology Today
DSM5 in Distress
The DSM's impact on mental health practice and research.
by Allen Frances, M.D. (Chair, DSM-IV Task Force and currently professor =
emeritus at Duke.)
Allen Frances, M.D. | January 12, 2012
DSM 5 Censorship Fails
Support From Professionals and Patients Saves Free Speech=20
Last week I described the plight of Suzy Chapman, a well respected UK =
patient advocate forced to change the domain name of her website by the =
heavy handed tactics of the publishing arm of the American Psychiatric =
Association. The spurious legal excuse was commercial protection of the =
'DSM 5' trademark; the probable intent was to stifle one of the =
internet's best sources of DSM and ICD information. This bullying could =
not have come at a worse time - just as final decisions are being made =
on highly controversial DSM 5 proposals and with the third and final =
draft due for release this spring. This is precisely when a ragged and =
reckless DSM 5 can most benefit from the widest and most open =
discussion.
Though APA's trademark claims were patently absurd, Ms Chapman did not =
have the necessary resources for a protracted fight against a well =
staffed legal department. Visits plummeted drastically to her new web =
address (reaching a nadir of just one hit per day) and the site faced =
months of slow recovery. But the good news is that APA's clumsy attempt =
at censorship has backfired, free speech will prevail, and the site is =
now more popular than ever.
Suzy Chapman writes:=20
"I want to thank the many psychiatrists, allied mental health =
professionals, and science writers who have spoken out in opposition to =
what they see as arrogant censorship on the part of the American =
Psychiatric Association. Their outpouring of concern has generated =
considerable interest on websites, blogs and social media platforms. =
This has increased the traffic on my site by many hundreds of visitors =
per day. The support of professionals and patient groups illustrates the =
power of the internet to resist suppression of patient advocacy and to =
promote free speech."
"The purpose of my site is to raise public and stakeholder awareness of =
the forthcoming revisions of both DSM-5 and ICD-11. I endeavor to =
provide timely and accurate information about DSM-5, including: internet =
commentaries on proposals; flag ups of journal papers and editorials; =
news releases and other media statements; and updates on changes to the =
DSM-5 timeline. I also cover progress on ICD-11, including activities of =
the Revision Steering Group; documents, presentations and videos; and =
updates on the ICD-11 timeline. I report on developments with the =
forthcoming US ICD-10-CM and proceedings of a US federal Advisory =
Committee to HHS in relation to coding issues. Finally, I follow the =
advocacy campaigns and initiatives relating to DSM and ICD =
classificatory issues. My objective is to help stakeholders understand =
the issues so that they may provide the most useful feedback to the =
revision process."
"Despite all the controversies, despite the calls for independent =
review, despite all the delays and limitations of its field trials, =
DSM-5 hurtles forward towards publication in May 2013. During this =
final, decisive year of DSM 5 decision making, I shall continue to =
publish information, updates and commentaries to promote the widest =
possible dialogue around the drafting of this most important =
publication. My new site, 'Dx Revision Watch - Monitoring the =
development of DSM-5, ICD-11, ICD-10-CM' can be found at: =
http://dxrevisionwatch.wordpress.com/=20
"This experience has taught me that the APA trademark claims were not =
only misguided, but probably legally indefensible. 'Nominative fair use' =
is permitted those who are publishing criticism within texts if use of =
the trademark is relevant to the subject of discussion or necessary to =
identify the product, service, or company. Courts have found that =
non-misleading use of trademarks in the domain names of critical =
websites (like walmartsucks.com) is to be considered 'fair use' by =
non-commercial users - so long as there is no intent to misrepresent or =
confuse visitors to the site and when it is clear that the site owner is =
not claiming endorsement by, or affiliation to, the holder of the mark."
"Everything I have read suggests that my clearly non-commercial use of =
my previous subdomain name (dsm5watch.wordpress.com) - with its =
prominent disclaimer and no intent to mislead - falls well within the =
concept of 'fair use'. This then raises the obvious question - what =
grounds did APA have for serving me with demands and threats of possible =
legal action? Several people have independently sent me materials on =
'SLAPP' lawsuits (strategic lawsuit against public participation). These =
are threats of legal action intended to censor, intimidate, and silence =
critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense - so that =
they will abandon their criticism or opposition."
"If you are interested in learning more about 'SLAPP' lawsuits, there is =
a good summary at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participati=
on=20
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation is also a very useful resource for =
legal advice on trademark law for blog and website owners. See
http://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal/liability/IP=20
"The surprisingly spirited and unanimous internet reaction provoked by =
the APA's actions will probably discourage it from future pursuit of =
other 'fair use' site owners. I certainly hope so. But if other site =
owners are issued inappropriate 'cease and desist' claims, I do hope =
they have the resources to seek legal advice before complying."=20
"I am very grateful for all the support received in the past week and =
the many emails thanking me for the work I do. It is gratifying to hear =
that not only do patients, caregivers and patient organizations rely on =
my carefully researched and presented content, but that so many =
professionals are also following my site and find it useful. This =
experience has been stressful, but I can now say confidently that APA's =
actions have definitely backfired - the many hundreds of additional =
viewers discovering the site each day will expand its audience and its =
usefulness."
=20
All of us owe great thanks to Ms Chapman and to the internet community =
whose ringing endorsement has allowed her not only to maintain, but also =
to enlarge, her readership. Ms Chapman will continue to provide the =
field with the most current and most accurate reporting on DSM 5 during =
its endgame. I strongly recommend her website as the best clearinghouse =
for information on DSM 5.
I join Ms Chapman in hoping that this embarrassing episode will =
discourage APA from all future efforts at abusive censorship - whether =
they are related to trademark, copyright, or confidentiality agreements. =
The field must remain vigilant in its efforts to contain APA =
commercialism and persistent in trying to penetrate APA's secrecy and =
inbred decision making. APA must finally come to realize that DSM 5 is =
an open public trust, not a private business enterprise.=20
----------------------
Related material:
DSM 5 A Public Trust Or An APA Cash Cow? Commercialism And Censorship =
Trump Concern For Quality, Allen Frances, M.D., Psychology Today, =
January 03, 2012:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm5-in-distress/201201/is-dsm-5-publ=
ic-trust-or-apa-cash-cow
Further media coverage of the "APA cease and desist v DSM-5 Watch =
website" issue collated here: http://wp.me/pKrrB-1Bi
Article on "cease and desist" issue: Pity the poor American Psychiatric =
Association, Parts 1 and 2 by author, Gary Greenberg, here:=20
http://www.garygreenbergonline.com/w/?p=3D188
Legal information and resources for bloggers and site owners:
1] Wipedia article: Cease and desist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cease_and_desist
2] Wipedia article: Strategic lawsuit against public participation =
(SLAPP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participati=
on
3] Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation
http://www.eff.org/
EFF Bloggers' Rights
https://www.eff.org/bloggers
EFF Legal Guide for Bloggers
https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal
4] Chilling Effects
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_Effects_(group)
http://chillingeffects.org/
5] "U.S. Trademark Law, Rules of Practice & Federal Statutes", U.S. =
Patent & Trademark Office, November 2011 =
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/law/tmlaw.pdf
Suzy Chapman
_____________________
http://dxrevisionwatch.wordpress.com/=20
http://meagenda.wordpress.com=20
http://www.facebook.com/MEagenda=20
http://twitter.com/MEagenda
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