[tcp_handshaker]

To be fair, the Springer empty PDF paper for $39.95, has zero errors, and zero plagiarism, so it is above the bar of their other paywalled proceedings papers.

[fhdkweig]

Even emptiness can be plagiarized. See Cage's 4'33"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4%E2%80%B233%E2%80%B3#Plagiari...

[Noumenon72]

That page says that eight years after the supposed lawsuit "Batt admitted that the alleged legal dispute had been a publicity stunt and that he had actually only made a donation of £1,000 to the John Cage Foundation."[1] I guess that he plagiarized it is sure even if the copyright claim was not litigated.

1. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-11964995

[dotancohen]

4'33 is not empty! That is a common misperception. 4'33 is the sound of the ambient space around the listener. Each performance is unique.

[tanseydavid]

IMHO they are both arrogant scoundrels for doing this.

[computerdork]

interesting connection to Cage. Maybe Springer Nature also sees the empty pdf as a form of art? :)