From: Viral Amin <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2014 09:54:56 -0500

Hi Elizabeth,

I too have dealt with these sorts of terms and also think that you
should be cautious about accepting them.  In such cases, I spoke with
the vendor or publisher representative, describing a scenario such as
you set forth and requesting they explain how the license terms apply
to it.  The representative, in my experience, can't do that, so the
vendor's legal team steps in to provide the proper interpretation.  I
insist that the interpretation be provided in an email or addendum
that can be used as a authoritative record.

Viral Amin
Assistant Professor
Metadata/Electronic Resources Librarian
Library & Learning Services
Marymount University
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On Tue, Dec 2, 2014 at 7:16 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: Elizabeth Henry <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2014 11:41:47 -0500
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm responsible for reviewing license agreements here at my
> university.  Recently, some librarians expressed interest in
> purchasing e-books from a vendor we've never purchased from, so I
> looked through their institutional purchase agreement and I came
> across these terms that make me uncomfortable.  The terms can be seen
> below:
>
> Permitted:
>
> Provided that the copyright header attached to the ebook chapter is
> retained, Authorized Users at the Purchaser's institution may:
>
> 1. download and and print one copy of each ebook chapter for personal
> use and archive contents on their own personal computers
>
> 2. send one copy of an ebook chapter by email, hard copy, or fax to
> one person in the Purchaser's campus/institutional network at another
> location for that individual's personal use.
>
> The reason why I am not comfortable with these terms is because once a
> user downloads the e-book onto their computer or tablet, what they do
> with the e-book is essentially out of our control.  We can't be sure
> that a user will download only one copy (what if the user has multiple
> devices or forgets that s/he already downloaded a copy?) or send to
> someone within the University.
>
> What are your thoughts on these terms?  Have any libraries agreed to
> these terms?  If you have, have you had any trouble?  Were you able to
> negotiate these terms to something more acceptable?
>
> Please let me know.
>
> Thank you,
> Elizabeth
>
> Elizabeth Henry
> Instruction and Reference/E-Resources Librarian
> Gallaudet University Library