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23rd September 2003

Understanding Electronic Licences Saves Companies Costly Legal Disputes Click for Press Release PDF. With some intellectual property disputes in the High Court in London costing upwards of 100,000, You can’t afford not read the latest report just published by FreePint. With some intellectual property disputes in the High Court in London costing upwards of 100,000, You can’t afford not read the latest report just published by FreePint.

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Practical Guide to Negotiating Licences for Electronic Products
by Paul Pedley

This is essential reading for anyone who has to negotiate licences for electronic products, like databases, news feeds, e-books, reference materials, or electronic journals. Digitisation is changing the way we all purchase publications. Hard copies are purchased and kept for future reference, but E-publications are typically leased on behalf of authorised users. Increasingly, corporate librarians are responsible for the procurement of electronic products for their Intranet systems. If you have a limited budget then this report will help you make sure that the budget you have is well spent, and that the licences you negotiate reflect the needs of your organisation.

The report which is available to purchase online price GBP 45 <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/> is written in simple language and enables you to understand contracts for the licensing of electronic products, so you are in a stronger position when negotiating. The key message of the report is that nothing is set in stone, with vendors very rarely refusing to negotiate their licence terms.

Report author Pedley says

"It is imperative that you seek clarification before signing a contract. It is no defence to say that the contract is invalid because you didn’t understand a particular clause"

Examples of Model Licence Agreements

Contracts are often full of legal jargon. The report explains in simple language where to go to look at typical examples of standard agreements, model licences and provider contracts. These explain the form of words and variables that publishers and librarians are likely to meet in negotiations. They are available for a range of different institutional types of library; public, national, university and company.

The report lists a number of practical tips for negotiating electronic products. These include how to fit standard definitions to your individual requirements, termination clauses, invoicing and payment terms, and end user documentation options. The report also includes information about licences from the Copyright Licensing Agency and the Newspaper Licensing Agency and the extent to which they cover digitised content.

Misuse of Databases

Addressing the issue of database misuse, the report explains that suppliers are likely to be concerned about compliance issues, particularly the number and location of users and the level of downloading.

However, the report points out:

"Libraries should look out for clauses that police misuse, and should not for example be made responsible for infringement by an authorised user. However it is reasonable that the library would be liable if it either condoned or encouraged a breach of misuse to continue after being notified of the infringement by a publisher".

"Act of God" Clauses

With the shift to virtual libraries and corporate Intranets the licensee who signs a contract for an electronic product needs to consider what would happen in the event of the physical library being closed down. In today’s climate it’s important to discuss under a "force majure" or "Act of God" clause which excuses a party from liability if some unforeseen event prevents it from being able to perform it’s obligations under the contract.

The Removal of Essential Sources

What if a decision to take out a contract to a database is based primarily on the availability of one or two vital publications and those key sources are then removed? A useful scenario is used to illustrate the relevance of a "break clause" in this case. The head of the information centre of a law firm has justified expenditure on an expensive database because of three vital sources. Mid way through the contract year, one or more of those sources is withdrawn from the aggregator’s service. A "break clause" would give the customer the option to cancel should this eventuality arise.

Information for Editors

Press Copies are available for review:

If you would like to review Practical Guide to Negotiating Licenses for Electronic Products. Paul Pedley. FreePint 2003 ISBN 1904769012 please contact Annabel Colley for a press copy

Press Contact:
Annabel Colley
E: annabel.colley@freepint.com
T: 077 309 72733

The full report is available online at <http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/licensing/>

PAUL PEDLEY is Head of Research at the Economist Intelligence Unit, and editor of www.KeepingLegal.com, a service covering daily updates on legal issues such as Copyright, data protection, and freedom of information.

Paul is the author of many books and reports including Essential law for information professionals and The invisible web: searching the hidden parts of the internet. Copyright for library and information Professionals and Free business and industry information on the web. Paul is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, CILIP. He represents The Association for Information Management. (ASLIB) on the Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance. He regularly runs training courses on copyright, data protection and freedom of information; as well as on internet topics such as the invisible web, and business information on the internet He has worked in Information Management for Law firm Theodore Goddard, and for the DTI and OFTEL.

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To set up interviews with FreePint Managing Editor William Hann or Paul Pedley contact Annabel Colley, email <annabel.colley@freepint.com> or call 07730 972733

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