If anyone is able to attend, please share a brief summary of highlights with
recommended Web-linked "reads" for the rest of us. Thanks for sharing.
Mike Conklin
Chief, Library and Information Services
Information Services Division
Departmental Offices
Treasury Department
Washington, DC 20220
202-622-0980
-----Original Message-----
From: Klein, Bonnie [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2002 8:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: NFAIS Symposium on Licensing -- Help with Spreading the
Word
-----------
I am forwarding this at the request of the NFAIS Information Policy
Committee. I apologize for the multiple postings.---
Bonnie Klein
Program Manager for Copyrighted Information
Defense Technical Information Center
Ft. Belvoir, VA
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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Licensing and Digital Content: A Symposium
Organized by the National Federation for Abstracting and Information
Services (NFAIS) http://www.nfais.org/ <http://www.nfais.org/>
with assistance from The H.W. Wilson Foundation
Friday, March 15, 2002
The Down Town Club
150 South Independence Hall West
(Southwest corner of 6th & Chestnut Streets, 11th Floor)
Philadelphia, PA
Successful e-commerce depends on the availability of the tools and
information that are at the very core of Web-based transactions. Users
cannot obtain the best quality software and databases without a license.
Even though the practice of licensing information products and services is
not new, adapting contract terms and conditions to the world of digital
delivery has sometimes proved haphazard, even confusing for customers.
The growing availability and use of digital information has concentrated the
focus of providers, users and policy makers on establishing standards for
licenses and contracts - whether they govern use of CD's, computer programs,
or online access.
But before hard and fast rules are established, both providers and users
need answers to some key questions:
· What laws - whether in the United States or abroad - affect contracts and
licenses for content in today's global information marketplace?
· What terms can content providers write into licenses to adequately protect
their digital information without running afoul of the law or alienating
customers?
· Are there special licensing concerns for the growing number of aggregators
that need to both obtain and provide access to source materials in their
electronic products and services?
· What contract terms and conditions are most important to digital content
customers - whether corporate or nonprofit?
The NFAIS Licensing and Digital Content Symposium will help answer those
questions and provide you in-depth and expert opinions on the key issues
facing both information providers and users as we look toward the next phase
of e-commerce.
The Symposium will provide an educational forum on legal and policy issues
relating directly to licensing practices for digital content, regardless of
its medium of delivery. Particular emphasis will be given to the status of
current US law and practice and the debates surrounding them - including
common law practices, court decisions, and the proposed Uniform Computer
Information Transactions Act (UCITA). Because of the increased delivery of
digital information globally, the Symposium will also provide an overview of
the European Union laws and court decisions affecting licensing and rights
in digital data. The focus will be on the effect of legal standards - both
those adopted and those proposed - on content providers and users, including
large institutional licensees such as nonprofit libraries, universities and
consortia, as well as corporations.
Who should attend:
· Decision makers from the content provider and aggregator communities
involved with the development, marketing and licensing of digital products
and services.
· Library acquisitions and digital collections specialists.
· Officials from corporate or educational institutions responsible for
purchasing and negotiating licenses for digital content.
· Practitioners of intellectual property and contract law.
Registration Fee
(including luncheon)
NFAIS Members: $200.00 Others: $235.00
8:30 am - 9:30 am
Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30 am - 9:45 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:45 am - 10:30 am
Intellectual Property and Licensing Laws - What, When and Why They Govern:
Joel Wolfson, Partner, Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley LLP
This noted practitioner of intellectual property and licensing law will
review of current legal standards governing the exercise and transfer of
digital information rights under both federal intellectual property law and
state licensing rules. In addition, Mr. Wolfson will review the ways in
which intellectual property law and contract law intersect or collide under
current common law, as well as under the proposed UCITA statute.
Mr. Wolfson is a former counsel with Nasdaq and has long been involved in
the crafting and negotiation of licenses from the perspective of both user
and provider. He participated in nearly every drafting session of NCCUSL's
UCITA Drafting Committee and currently heads the intellectual law practice
of Blank Rome.
10:30 am - 11:15 am
State of the Law: Ray Nimmer, Leonard Childs Professor of Law, University
of Houston Law Center
Prof. Nimmer will provide an overview of digital content licensing precepts
as they have developed under common law, a discussion of leading court
decisions, and the relevance of the federal E-Sign legislation to contract
formation. Profession Nimmer will also highlight important provisions of
UCITA and developments in the European Union. The overview will provide a
basis of understanding of how common law decisions in the states have
affected the crafting of licensing agreements for content in the digital
age; how UCITA conforms with or would alter such practices; and the extent
to which standardization of licensing law is occurring globally.
Prof. Nimmer is a noted expert on licensing and contract law and served as
the Reporter for the UCITA Drafting Committee established by the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). He has
published extensively on licensing and contract issues and continues to be
involved with NCCUSL's efforts to enact UCITA, including participating in
numerous negotiations among interested parties.
11:15 am - 11:30 am
Break
11:30 am - 12:15 pm
Perspectives from the Corporate User: William R. Denny, Esquire, Partner,
Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, Wilmington, DE
Corporations are increasingly large users of digital content. Access to
such information - whether directly from vendors or through a corporate
library or intranet - is key to the economic viability of such
organizations. Large corporations are often in a position to negotiate for
use of such material; however, as the information marketplace has developed
and grown, they are often presented with de facto licensing terms and
conditions. Mr. Denny will discuss his experience negotiating licenses for
use of digital content on behalf of large corporate clients, and whether the
current common law standards prove adequate for addressing the corporation's
usage needs. He will then review how the current situation would alter
under UCITA.
Mr. Denny has vast experience in the area of information licensing law. He
has represented licensor and licensee clients in the negotiation of
information licenses and in litigation over such licenses. He also
participated in NCCUSL's UCITA Drafting Committee meetings, and chaired a
special committee of the Delaware State Bar Association to review UCITA.
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm
Luncheon
1:30 pm - 2:15 pm
An Aggregator's View: Brian Sweet, Information Consultant
Aggregators have concerns about licensing digital content in terms of both
user and provider. As a user, they must often negotiate for access to
databases in order to prepare traditional indices and abstracts - as well as
provision of new services, such as portals and gateways. As a provider,
they must take into account not only terms and conditions for the products
and services they create but also those of the original content owner. Mr.
Sweet will discuss specifics of licensing of digital content from both these
perspectives, concentrating particularly on the extent to which contracts
and agreements have altered as the demand for aggregator databases has
increased.
2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
The Library Perspective: Speaker TBA
This discussion will focus on issues involved in licenses for digital
content, including: the extent to which licensing negotiations are
necessary or possible between providers and libraries - or if the situation
differs for various delivery and access media; and particular terms and
conditions that have proven problematic for libraries' mission to provide
broad access to information, including digital content products and
services. Following this overview, the presenter will discuss the extent to
which UCITA will alter the current environment - either to the benefit or
detriment of the library community.
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
Break
3:30 pm - 4:15 pm
Perspectives from the Educational Community: Rodney Petersen, Director, IT
Policy and Planning, University of Maryland
Since Maryland's enactment of UCITA in the spring of 1999, digital content
licenses for the state's libraries have been subject to the provisions of
UCITA. A representative from CIRLA will review the objections to the law
voiced during debate in the Maryland legislature and the review process for
the new law established by the legislature. Following this overview, the
presenter will outline changes that have occurred in the library market for
digital content since enactment of the new law, including: the effect on
the libraries' ability to provide direct access to, loan, and preserve
digital content; their need to more closely monitor and negotiate licensing
agreements; and specific licensing terms and conditions that have proven
especially problematic or beneficial for the Maryland library community.
4:15 pm - 5:00 pm
A Database Provider View: Steven Emmert, Director of Government and
Industry Affairs, Reed Elsevier Inc.
Mr. Emmert will review some current licensing practices for the Reed
Elsevier family of digital content products and services. He will discuss
specific terms and conditions within licensing agreements for certain Reed
Elsevier products and services, including the evolution of the specifics in
those agreements and the extent to which they are standard across geographic
boundaries and the broad range of user groups. He will also compare how
current licensing contracts conform to or differ from similar provisions in
UCITA.
Licensing and Digital Content Symposium
March 15, 2002
The Down Town Club
Philadelphia, PA
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