Re: Terms subject to change

[Sandy Thatcher <sandy.thatcher@alumni.princeton.edu>]

Sounds like the kind of agreement you accept whenever you sign up 
for Apple's bookstore and like operations. None of these licenses 
is ever negotiable.

Sandy Thatcher


>Seeking the collective wisdom ...
>
>We are working on a license agreement with a large vendor (you
>would all recognize the name).  Their default license includes
>the following language:
>
>"[Licensor] reserves the right to modify these Terms and
>Conditions, or any aspect of [licensed materials], at any time.
>The most updated Terms and Conditions of Use will be posted on
>the [licensor's] website. [Licensor] shall notify Institutional
>Licensees via email of material modifications. A modification
>shall become effective for an Institutional Licensee if it does
>not object in writing to [licensor] within 60 (sixty) days from
>the time [licensor] emails notice of the modification. In the
>event of such an objection, the Institutional Licensee shall have
>the right to terminate the Agreement on 30 (thirty) days written
>notice."
>
>I asked the licensor to change the one-sided right to
>modification with a statement that the signed Agreement should
>prevail, and that "Any amendments to the Agreement must be in
>writing and signed by both [licensor] and the Institutional
>Licensee."  They refused to change the default language.
>
>Are any of you accepting language like this, where a licensor has
>the right to change the terms unilaterally, and the licensee's
>only recourse is to accept or cancel?  Seems to me that a
>contract that can be modified at will by one party isn't much of
>a contract.
>
>Any advice how to approach would be appreciated.
>
>Thank you,
>
>C. Derrik Hiatt
>Electronic Resources Librarian
>Z. Smith Reynolds Library
>Wake Forest University
>Winston-Salem, NC 27109