OCLC v. Clarivate: What was MetaDoor? What is an OCLC Record?

OCLC v. Clarivate: What was MetaDoor? What is an OCLC Record?

On November 7, 2022, OCLC and Clarivate announced a settlement in their lawsuit about using WorldCat records in the embryonic MetaDoor service.
This ended the latest chapter in the saga of reuse of library metadata with little new clarity.
The settlement terms were not disclosed, but we can learn a little from the proceedings.
First, let’s review the press releases from the parties.
Then we’ll look at the transcripts of court proceedings to see if we can get closer to answers about some questions this lawsuit raises.
Clarivate’s Statement
Clarivate’s statement about the settlement is quite vague:
Clarivate continues to deny OCLCs allegations of wrong-doing and maintains that the issue lay between OCLC and its customers, who sought to co-create an efficient community platform for sharing of bibliographic records. Clarivate will not develop a record exchange system of MARC records that include records which OCLC has claimed are subject to its policy and contractual limitations. Clarivate will bear its own fees and costs.
Gordon Samson, Chief Product Officer at Clarivate insisted, «Clarivate will continue to support the goals of open research and data exchange – because we believe it is the best way to make the process of research and learning faster, more robust and more transparent. Regardless of business model, when scholarly information is easily accessible and shareable, the dots are easier to join, the connections are explicit, and collaborations are more natural and meaningful. The process of scientific discovery is faster, and it is easier to ensure research integrity and reproducibility. We know that navigating the transition to open research is important to our customers, and we remain committed to helping them make that transition as seamlessly as possible.»
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Clarivate and OCLC Settle Lawsuit
«, Clarivate press release issued November 7, 2022
It isn’t clear from this statement whether MetaDoor is done or not.
(We’ll answer the «What is/was MetaDoor?» question below.)
The statement, which matches the language in the OCLC statement, only says that a service that includes OCLC records will not be built.
(We’ll also try to answer the «What is an OCLC record?» question below.)
OCLC’s Statement
OCLC’s statement is only a little less vague:
OCLC is pleased to announce today that it successfully defended WorldCat to protect the collaborative service developed and maintained with and for libraries worldwide.
An agreement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by OCLC in June 2022 against Clarivate and its subsidiaries in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio.
Though the settlement document itself is confidential, two significant elements include:
Clarivate, Ex Libris, and ProQuest have ceased the development and marketing of the MetaDoor MARC record exchange system
developed using records that are subject to the WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities Pol…