Disrupting the Oligopoly: a Critical Analysis of SCI-Hub and Reimagining Ethics in Scholarly Publishing

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_14How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Sci-Hub; scholarly publishing; oligopoly; open access; scholarly communication; copyright ethics; knowledge access

Abstract

The contemporary scholarly publishing system Indicated by a highly concentrated market profit oligopoly system, subscription fees, & paywalls has triggeredan intense access crisis, shatter the global research community along economic & geographical boundaries. This paper critically analyses Sci-Hub, the disputed shadow library founded in 2011 by Alexandra Elbakyan, which has surfaced as a disruptive force challenging the oligopoly nature of publishing market. This study investigates how Sci-Hub exposed fundamental defect in the contemporary academic publishing model through comprehensive analysis of publishing economics, ethical frameworks, & access inequalities. This research inquiries into conflict between right to access of knowledge and copyright protection. This paper argues for readdressing scholarly communication by reviewing oligopoly model of business, impact of Sci-Hub on researcher community & alternative publishing model. The findings says that Sci-hub provides illegal access bypassing copyright infringement, although it addresses knowledge disparities particularly researcher from developing countries. This paper contributes to the debates, dialogue & discussion on future of scholarly publishing by proposing the acceptable solutions which balance IPR with universal access to knowledge, finally reimagining ethics in scholarly publishing which address access to knowledge over profit.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Sudipta Kumar Baghar
AU  - Chandrakanta Swain
AU  - Sunam Shankar Behera
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/27
TI  - Disrupting the Oligopoly: a Critical Analysis of SCI-Hub and Reimagining Ethics in Scholarly Publishing
BT  - Proceedings of the International conference on Marching beyond the Libraries: Talent, Technology, and Transformation (ICMBL 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 112
EP  - 122
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_14
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-614-2_14
ID  - Baghar2026
ER  -