FTC Gets Injunction Against Predatory Publisher

According to a recent report on Retraction Watch, one day after OrthoBuzz posted an article about predatory publishers, a federal court ordered Srinubabu Gedela, CEO of OMICS Group and two sister companies, to stop what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said in an August 2016 lawsuit were deceptive business practices related to journal publishing. On its website, OMICS claims to publish “700+ open access journals.”

In issuing the preliminary injunction, US District Court Judge Gloria Navarro found evidence supporting the FTC’s claims that OMICS misled readers about whether articles had been peer-reviewed, hid publishing fees until after papers had been accepted, and presented misleading impact-factor data.

Under the preliminary injunction, OMICS will still be able to publish journals; the injunction relates only to specific “misrepresentations.” Gregory Ashe, a senior attorney at the FTC, told Retraction Watch that “nothing in this order goes to what [OMICS] can or can’t publish in terms of content. This is about how they are soliciting would-be academics to publish in their journals.”

If the FTC learns from academic consumers that OMICS is violating this injunction, the commission would then have to file a contempt-of-court motion. If you feel you have been victimized by unfair or deceptive business practices in academic publishing, you can contact the FTC’s Consumer Response Center at 1-877-382-4357.

Jason Miller, JBJS Executive Publisher
Lloyd Resnick, JBJS Developmental Editor