The Google scholar search engine ( http://scholar.google.com/, see also ) so far limited to scientific information allows to search and find "non-free access" content with a search engine ( with a link to buy of course... ) The search engine is still in its experimental phase, and the results are far from exhaustive.

The Google scholar search engine allows also to find ( but not always as I tested on my own papers ) freely available documents, when scientists have had the good idea to post on their personnal sites the pdf of their papers ( a practise which is formally allowed by some publishers, forbidden by other, but I have not been aware of any litigations so far ). So the Google scholar search engine has a good side... it clearly favours Open Access Journals, but concerning content published in non-free journals, until when, under which conditions ? "Ed Pentz, executive director of linking specialists (and Google partner) CrossRef, warned: "Some publishers are concerned about the versions of articles that are shown in the Google results." It is clear that some publishers are not happy to see the freely available "version" showing up in the search instead of linking to the article you must buy. I am deeply concerned by CrossRef.

Technically, what is happenning within the domain of Scientific Information could be the harbinger of what can be generalized to any kind of non-free information and the Web can be transformed in a shopping mall !. Concerning information that could be rightly conceived as commercial information that has the right to be sold ( not like primary scientific information or "original scholarly material" ), it should be added that the conditions of a fair market are not met, because not all stakeholders are involved. Therefore this issue must dealt with immediately, before it is too late.

Google may search into "non-free" content with the help of CrossRef ( see also ). Publishers must pay to get a DOI from CrossRef and for the DOI to be resolved into a URL linking directly to a document. It is managed by "Publishers International Linking Association, Inc. (PILA), an independent membership organization comprised of publishers of original scholarly material. Fees are subject to change without notice." At this stage, it is neccessary to become more precise while decrypting the elegiac language :

    * The /OpenURL/ is a mechanism for transporting metadata and
      identifiers describing a publication, for the purpose of
      context-sensitive linking. The OpenURL standard is currently on
      the path to NISO accreditation. (For more information on the
      OpenURL, see http://library.caltech.edu/openurl.)

    * A/ link resolver/ is a system for linking within an institutional
      context that can interpret incoming OpenURLs, take the local
      holdings and access privileges of that institution (usually a
      library) into account, and display links to appropriate resources.
      A link resolver allows the library to provide a range of
      library-configured links and services, including links to the
      full-text, a local catalogue to check print holdings, document
      delivery or ILL services, databases, search engines, etc.
    * /CrossRef/ is a system for the persistent identification of
      scholarly content and cross-publisher citation linking to the
      full-text and related resources using the DOI. CrossRef DOIs link
      to publisher response pages, which include the full bibliographic
      citation and abstract, as well as full-text access (for
      authenticated users or at no charge, as determined by the
      publisher). The publisher response page often includes other
      linking options, such as pay-per-view access, journal table of
      contents and homepage, and associated resources. CrossRef is a
      collaborative membership network, and not a product for purchase.
    * /DOI /stands for Digital Object Identifier and is an open
      standard. A DOI is an alphanumeric name that identifies digital
      content, such as a book or journal article. The DOI is paired with
      the object's electronic address, or URL, in an updateable central
      directory, and is published in place of the URL in order to avoid
      broken links while allowing the content to move as needed. DOIs
      are distributed by publishers and by CrossRef, and there is no
      end-user charge associated with their use..

The DOI and the OpenURL work together in several ways. First, the DOI 
directory itself - where link resolution occurs in the CrossRef system - 
is OpenURL-enabled. This means that it can recognize a user with access 
to a local resolver. When such a user clicks on a DOI, the CrossRef 
system does two key things: (1) it redirects that DOI back to the user's 
local resolver, and (2) it allows the DOI to be used as a key to pull 
metadata out of the CrossRef database, metadata that is needed to create 
the OpenURL targeting the local link resolver. As a result, the 
institutional user clicking on a DOI is directed to appropriate 
resources. By using the CrossRef DOI system to identify their content, 
publishers in effect make their products OpenURL aware.

Secondly, since DOIs greatly streamline linking and data management 
processes for publishers, more publishers are beginning to require that 
the DOI be used as the primary linking mechanism to full text. Link 
resolvers can use the CrossRef system to retrieve the DOI, if the DOI is 
not already available from the source (i.e., citing) document.

In order to take advantage of localized linking, a cookie must be set on 
the user's machine. For information on the Cookie Pusher script, please 
see http://www.exlibris-usa.com/sfx_cookiepusher.htm. (Note that the 
reason this CookiePusher information is available at via SFX is 
historical, due to their role in prototyping this functionality.)

The so-called OpenURL ( see also and also ) appears therefore as a misnomer, it may become a tool that could threaten the freedom of the Web, the so-called "context-sensitivity" indicates whether you are an authorized person or not, whether a subscriber or not... of course, you need a cookie... ( This of concern for censorship and human rights too... this could be a tool to implement an Orwellian society ) I hope the danger is clear now for everybody ! Now, I will be quick to underline also that the OpenURL can be put also to good uses. It is not the OpenURL technology which is bad per se, but what could be accomplished in combination with it, for example with DOI and DRM.

The DOI itself bypasses completely the DNS system and features it own resolver system : the handle.net. DOI/OpenURL plugins are currently being prepared. Web sites that are using DOI are using this resolver system. There is a brigde between the DOI and the DNS system, for example 10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.29 is a DOI that can be resolves into http://content.apa.org/journals/amp/59/1/29, when a browser does not have Client Resolver. The DOI is more than just a DNS. :

"DOI persistently identifies an entity of relevance in an intellectual property transaction and associates the entity with relevant data and services. An entity can be identified at any arbitrary level of granularity. DOIs can be used to identify, for example, text, audio, images, software, etc., and in future could be used to identify the agreements and parties involved, though initial implementations have focussed on "creations".

We have to be carefull that there is a software patent on DOI : 6,135,646 system for uniquely and persistently identifying, managing and tracking digital objects. (see also www.contentdirections.com )

One can clearly see that Search Engines + DOI + Software patent could lead us towards an Orwellian society that would betray the spirit of a free society and equitable market.