From: "Matheson, Scott" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 20:10:20 +0000

Hi Mark,

This may not be an option for you and certainly has its drawbacks, but when
faced with this sort of situation, we have been known to have an individual
user license the materials needed and apply to us for reimbursement. We
have an internal re-granting mechanism that does not use collection funds.

This means we don't have to bind the university to untenable or
impossible licenses but the user still gets the needed materials - sometimes
at a lower, individual use rate. To my knowledge, we do this rarely and for
resources that I imagine are significantly less expensive than I guess GIS
data is.

Of course the downsides include that we're not adding this material to our
collection or making it available to others. This is a last resort
tactic, but the
license you describe definitely ticks all of our "No; no way; not ever" boxes.

Scott
____________
Scott Matheson, Associate Librarian for Technical Services
Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School
203-432-1603 | Box 208326, New Haven, CT 06520-8326

> On Oct 27, 2015, at 5:21 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: Mark L Clemente <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2015 21:04:06 +0000
>
> Hi colleagues,
>
> We are working on a license right now for GIS data (satellite imagery)
> from DigitalGlobe and the license contains some difficult language
> concerning 1) MIT’s full responsibility for all user actions; 2) MIT’s
> indemnification of DigitalGlobe; and 3) DigitalGlobe’s ability to
> perform on-site audits and to charge additional fees if MIT is not
> complying with the license.  We are unable to modify the language and
> we are currently weighing the issues.
>
> Have any of you signed licenses with DigitalGlobe before, and if so,
> how have you dealt with these clauses?  Our GIS librarian has
> determined that they are essentially the only commercial vendor of
> satellite imagery, so there aren’t really alternative sources.
>
> Many thanks for your input!
>
> Mark Clemente
>
> Mark Clemente
> Scholarly Communications and Licensing Librarian
> MIT Libraries
> 77 Massachusetts Avenue
> Cambridge, MA 02139
> [log in to unmask]