Model License Agreement Call for Comments

We are pleased to announce the second output from the Contract Language Working Group, whose job it is to build on the Entity Category work to produce a toolkit for use in contracts between libraries and service providers (and for service providers to have as a reference for library requirements). This group is working to develop a toolkit that can be used to update contracts and documentation to help libraries and providers choose the appropriate entity category for the resource and outcomes they desire. The first document from the toolkit was the Entity Category Use Case Scenarios released last year.

Today, the Contract Language Working Group is happy to release its Model License Agreement with Commentary document for comments. The Model License is presented in the form of a contract, with sections specific to Federated Authentication issues and commentary from the authors highlighted with purple text for ease of identification.

From the introduction to the document:

This Model License Agreement (“MLA”) has been prepared to assist information professionals, executives, and others who offer or acquire digital content in a library or similar setting. The intent of this MLA is to present a sound and realistic template of the key issues involved in negotiating a license to acquire or use digital content, specifically as it relates to the world of Federated Authentication & Authorization.

Comments may be left directly on the Google Doc until March 31. We will be revising the document as we move forward in our work and towards the release of the 1.0 version of the Model License as well as the full Contract Language Toolkit. We look forward to your feedback.

Categories: General