RLI 280 E-Book Licensing and Research Libraries—Negotiating Principles and Price in an Emerging Market 12 SEPTEMBER 2012 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A QUARTERLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC LYRASIS was selected as the ARL agent4 and the first license negotiated on behalf of ARL was for the University Press Content Consortium (UPCC) Book Collections on Project MUSE (hereafter “provider,” “vendor,” or “licensor”). Readers are referred to the “ARL E-Book Requirements” for detail regarding the technical and service specifications. What follows is a description of some of the key license provisions, some of the principles upon which they were based, and how they were addressed during the negotiations. Key License Provisions The final license successfully addresses many key points. ARL acknowledges Johns Hopkins University Press and Project MUSE for their willingness to work together to craft a license in this new arena. A significant characteristic of the license, which allows many of the provisions, is the absence of digital rights management (DRM) on the UPCC e-book files. Archival, Preservation, and Perpetual Use The “ARL E-Book Requirements” include extensive language based on principles for perpetual use that archival preservation, refreshing, or migrations ensure continued use and/or retention of the data. One copy of any material sold or discontinued must be made available from the provider to the library in a mutually acceptable format. In addition the provider would grant a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use any licensed materials accessible during the term of the agreement after the agreement terminates. Third-party trusted archive services and collaborative archiving could fulfill the requirements for the perpetual-use provision. A copy of the licensed materials should be provided upon termination of the agreement for research libraries to use to fulfill their preservation responsibilities. The provider agreed to grant a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use any content that was accessible during the term of the agreement. Perpetual access would be available at no charge if access was purchased within the previous 24 months or, if not active, a reasonable annual fee would be charged to recover costs to provide continuing access. In addition, a machine-readable copy would be provided upon termination and further copies could be made for the purpose of archival preservation. A third-party trusted archive is also allowed to provide services. Authorized Users and Authorized Uses Research libraries have diverse and dispersed communities. This license principle expressed in the “ARL E-Book Requirements” is similar to that used by libraries for e-journals and journal packages. It specifies that the user community include those who the institution authorizes to access secure institutional networks. Those individuals may be within the library, but are more likely to need remote access. The principle also allows walk-in users for those institutions that offer unaffiliated users onsite access. The uses made of the content are for the purposes of research, education, or other non-commercial use. Provision is made that the licensee and authorized users may make all use of the licensed materials as is consistent with the exceptions and limitations of the US Copyright Act, including 17 USC §107, §108, §110, §121, and the Copyright Act of Canada. Nothing in the agreement is to be interpreted to limit in any way rights under the exceptions and limitations of the US Copyright Act and the Copyright Act of Canada to use the licensed materials. Commercial use would not be considered authorized use.
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