Best-selling organic chemistry textbook becomes open access

The mechanism of becoming open access via a legal loophole was quite interesting. From the article:

“The author of a popular organic chemistry textbook is making it freely available to students after learning about a loophole in his copyright agreement with the publisher.

“John McMurry’s Organic Chemistry has been one of the best selling chemistry textbooks since it was first printed in 1984. Under his agreement with Cengage Learning, the book’s publisher, McMurry realised he could ask for the book’s copyright to be returned to him 30 years after it was first printed. Without copyright of the first edition, the publisher is unable to produce any more new editions, McMurry notes.

“McMurry, an emeritus professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, US, says the move was a tribute to his son who passed away from cystic fibrosis three years ago.”

If people are still using McMurry, I can only assume that the alternatives are somehow worse.

> Cengage will still make money from McMurry’s book through the supporting online material. ‘We like to have them continue selling that because a lot of students want that,’

It has nothing to do with students - it is all about the publisher wanting more money and wanting to shut down the used book market.

I am sure that there were already organic chemistry textbooks available. But, from a student's point of view, that won't matter unless the professor chooses to use this book. It has always been confusing to me why professors choose expensive options for their students.