The CCC was established as the not-for-profit Reproduction Rights Organization (RRO) for the United States. CCC operates licensing systems that facilitate compliance with copyright law and promotes the constitutional purposes of copyright, namely progress and creativity in the arts and sciences.

CCC's mission is:

1. to act as an agent for domestic/foreign authors and publishers by providing them with the efficiencies of collective services through equitable collection and distribution of royalties for photocopying and electronic uses of their copyrighted works;

2. to provide all types of users with an efficient single source for licensed access to as broad a repertory of copyrighted works as possible; and

3. to continue development of collective licensing systems that meet the challenges of emerging information technologies.

ICMJE first met in Vancouver in 1978, and was originally known as the "Vancouver Group." This influential group produces the periodically updated resource: Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Although the information appears current, it is very difficult to see from the Web page which sections were derived from the 1997 version, the May 2000 version, or the October 2001 update.

The Uniform Requirements have been adopted by more than 500 of the leading biomedical journals, although authors are always strongly encouraged to read the Instructions to Authors for the journal to which they plan to submit, as there are often additional special instructions.

The CONSORT statement comprises a checklist and flow diagram to help improve the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials. It offers a standard way for researchers to report trials. The checklist includes items, based on evidence, that need to be addressed in the report; the flow diagram provides readers with a clear picture of the progress of all participants in the trial, from the time they are randomized until the end of their involvement. The intent is to make the experimental process more clear, flawed or not, so that users of the data can more appropriately evaluate its validity for their purposes.

The statement is available in six languages and has been endorsed by prominent medical journals such as The Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.