Standardized license agreements (Tommy Mitchell) Marcia Tuttle 05 Aug 1999 15:38 UTC
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1999 09:10:10 -0500 From: Tommy Mitchell <tjmitchell@EBSCO.COM> Subject: Standardized license agreements For immediate release For More Information Contact: Thomas J. Mitchell (205) 991�1368 e-mail: tjmitchell@ebsco.com <mailto:tjmitchell@ebsco.com> Standardized License Agreements Developed to Simplify Negotiations Between Publishers, Libraries In partnership with John Cox Associates and four other subscription agencies, EBSCO Subscription Services is sponsoring the development of a suite of generic standard licenses for electronic journals. The licenses are in the public domain and available online at www.licensingmodels.com <http://www.licensingmodels.com> . "EBSCO is committed to helping libraries manage the many formats of information available today and to simplifying management of that information," said Frank Mapes, vice president and general manager of Publisher Services for EBSCO. "Electronic journals in particular present a new set of challenges in information management - negotiating terms, preparing and reviewing agreements, and ensuring compliance with legal and university policy. We are pleased with the work that has been put into the development of these licenses." The new licenses will reduce the burden on all parties involved by providing standard agreements which, once approved by the appropriate legal counsels, will provide a fast and effective method of implementing negotiated terms. There are four model licenses; all are international in application. Licenses have been developed for single academic institutions, academic consortia, public libraries, and corporate, government and other research libraries. John Cox Associates, an international publishing consultancy specializing in licensing and content management, developed the licenses after consultation with a number of librarians, publishers and subscription agents. Project Leader John Cox said, "These license models are tools to be used once the parties - publishers and the libraries - have negotiated the business terms of the license. They are succinct and flexible and will help to speed up the process of finalizing the words." Currently available policy statements and licensing models, including the UK model developed by the Publishers Association and the Joint Information Systems Committee of the Higher Education Funding Councils, served as the principal sources in the development of the new models. The American Library Association's Principles for Licensing Electronic Resources and the International Coalition of Library Consortia's Statements of Current Perspectives, as well as the LIBLICENSE Web site, were also valuable references. The new licenses were designed to be flexible and adaptable to account for the needs of different customers and publishers. Appropriate clauses can be selected to create a license that complies with both the customer's need and publisher policy. Initial development of the licenses will be completed by late summer 1999, and the agreements should be available for the 2000 subscription year. ___________________ Thomas J. Mitchell EBSCO Information Services Public Relations and Marketing Manager (205)991-1368 Fax: (205)995-1636 tjmitchell@ebsco.com