Reflection paper on copyright, patient-reported outcome instruments and their translations

Abstract

With the growth of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement, questions arise regarding how copyright protection applies to PRO instruments in general and to their translations in particular. The main objectives of this reflection paper are: 1) to help authors of PRO instruments understand basic rules of intellectual property and copyright that protect the integrity of their instruments and derivatives; and 2) to provide recommendations to authors and users of PRO instruments to prevent misuse or abuse.National laws on intellectual property (IP) and the international Berne Convention fully apply to PRO instruments since they are creations of the mind. Therefore, the copyright holder / owner / claimant of a PRO instrument, i.e., the person or legal entity who owns the copyright of the instrument, is granted exclusive rights that are divided into two main categories: moral and economic rights. Moral rights are: 1) the right of attribution (or right of paternity), i.e., the right to claim authorship of the work, 2) the right against false attribution, and 3) the right of integrity, i.e., the right to object to any mutilation, deformation or modification of the work. Economic rights represent the exclusive rights of the author to make or authorize reproduction, development of derivative works, distribution and communication to the public. In other words, the PRO instrument’s copyright holder controls access (distribution, reproduction), and authorizes all derivative works, i.e., adaptations (e.g., electronic formats), modifications (e.g., shorter versions), and translations. Hence, the access to and use of an original PRO instrument and its derivatives in any kind of research should always be associated with the identification of its copyright holder. However, in some cases, this identification may be challenging, in particular when copyright ownership is not clearly defined. To prevent ownership conflicts as well as misuse or abuse of PRO instruments, the ISOQOL Translation and Cultural Adaptation Special Interest Group (TCA-SIG) provides recommendations to authors of PRO instruments and their users. In particular, the TCA-SIG recommends that the ownership of PRO instruments and their derivatives should be defined from the beginning (i.e., from the development of the instrument) and along the life cycle of the instrument between all parties involved. These recommendations apply not only to PRO instruments but also to all the other clinical outcome assessments (COAs), since they are also creations of the mind.

Systematic Review on the Content of Outcome Measurement Instruments on Scar Quality

“…However, if done, validation of the new scale is crucial and asking the copyright holders of the original scale for permission. 32 Furthermore, we strongly advise to clearly describe the modifications made to the content of a selected scale in articles, and assigning either a version number or new name to it.…”

Questionnaire Modifications and Alternative Scoring Methods of the Dermatology Life Quality Index: A Systematic Review

“…Most HRQoL questionnaires, including the DLQI, are copyrighted to ensure the developers' rights to their work (ie, reproducing and distributing it, preparing derivative works) as well as to retain the integrity of validated and authorized version of the original questionnaire. [34][35][36] As HRQoL measures are often used as endpoints in clinical trials, for health-related decisions (eg, choice of treatment), reimbursement decisions and labelling claims by regulatory bodies, such as the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, maintaining quality standards is paramount. Users therefore are not allowed to change the content, wording or format of the questionnaire (eg, instructions, questions, and their order, response options, or recall period).…”

Measurement properties of the translations of instruments evaluating the subjective effects of tobacco- and nicotine-containing products: a systematic review of the literature

“…By identifying existing translations and documenting them, this implementation might also help prevent the development of multiple translations for the same language and avoid concerns about which translation to use (Anfray et al, 2009). Furthermore, engaging the developers of the original versions in this process might help protect the integrity of each measurement instrument included (Anfray et al, 2018).…”